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avatar_Silvanusaurus

Becklespinax reconstruction possibilities?

Started by Silvanusaurus, August 23, 2015, 11:53:11 AM

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Silvanusaurus

I was recently reading about the the British dinosaur Becklespinax and how it may have looked, it's been compared to Acrocanthosaurus and Concavenator, but as the only remains found are very minimal (the spines below) there can't be much certainty over it's true appearance.



My palaeontological knowledge isn't that extensive, but I'm hoping to customise an existing dinosaur figure into a speculative Becklespinax, but am finding it hard to get a clear picture of the positioning of the spinal section shown above in the overall skeleton. So I'm wondering if anyone more learned in this area could help me out, what is the most up to date view on the placement of these remains? And what is the most likely body shape of the full creature; something like Allosaurus or Acrocanthosaurus, or even some kind of Spinosaurid?

There is this Becklespinax toy (made by Procon I think?) but it doesn't look very believable and the spinal ridge doesn't seem to fit with other suggestions.


Also I found this skeletal reconstruction, and was thinking this would be a reasonable place for those three vertebrae that are known:


But then there are quite a few artistic depictions showing the speculated 'hump' much further up the spine, closer to the neck, such as this:


So, does any one have any ideas about the best way to reconstruct this guy? I'm going with the interpretation that the different lengths of those vertebrae are natural rather than a breakage in the first one, thus implying the hump seen in the pictures included, so what I'm really trying to work out is where on it's body that 'humped' section would be.
Any help would be fantastic, thanks.


stargatedalek

Becklespinax isn't an animal I've done much research into, but you definitely have the right idea with a hump rather than a sail given the width of the vertebrae.

Dinoguy2

#2
Another vote for the spines being over the shoulders is the very first reconstruction, the Crystal Palace megalosaur!



The hump was added because Becklespinax was considered a species of Megalosaurus at the time.

However, The Theropod Database lists them as the 10-12th dorsals, which would but them near the hip, so the skeletal above would be correct. http://theropoddatabase.com/Carnosauria.htm#Becklespinaxaltispinax I'm not sure how this was determined though.

Note that TTD also places is as a close relative of Concavenator, in a clade with Eocarcharia and Sauroniops, so feel free to restore those with "shark fins" as well! ;) http://theropoddatabase.com/Phylogeny%20of%20Taxa.html
The Carnegie Collection Dinosaur Archive - http://www.dinosaurmountain.net

Tyto_Theropod

#3
I have to say that while I certainly don't pretend to be an expert in palaeontology, let alone the placement of Theropod vertebrae, it does seem reasonable to speculate about Becklespinax being a close relative of Concavenator's (I could be completely wrong, though. :P), so my vote would definitely be for something along the Concavenator lines.
UPDATE - Where've I been, my other hobbies, and how to navigate my Flickr:
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Silvanusaurus

I think I've got a really interesting idea for a reconstruction after looking at some other similar dinosaur skeletons and some modern biological examples, something that reflects what's seen in concavenator but is also quite unique. We may never find any more remains of Becklespinax to get a more authentic 'design', so I might as well take a shot. I'll post what I come up with in my customs thread.
Thanks for the help.

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