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Spinosaurids as ‘subaqueous foragers’ undermined by selective sampling and problematic statistical inference

View ORCID ProfileNathan Myhrvold, View ORCID ProfilePaul C. Sereno, View ORCID ProfileStephanie L. Baumgart, Kiersten K. Formoso, View ORCID ProfileDaniel Vidal, View ORCID ProfileFrank E. Fish, View ORCID ProfileDonald M. Henderson
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.04.13.487781
Nathan Myhrvold
1Intellectual Ventures, 3150 139th Avenue Southeast, Bellevue, WA 98005
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  • For correspondence: nathanm@intven.com
Paul C. Sereno
2Department of Organismal Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637
3Committee on Evolutionary Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637
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Stephanie L. Baumgart
2Department of Organismal Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637
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Kiersten K. Formoso
4Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089
5Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA 90007
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Daniel Vidal
6Grupo de Biología Evolutiva, UNED, 28040 Madrid, Spain
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Frank E. Fish
7Department of Biology, West Chester University, West Chester, PA 19383
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Donald M. Henderson
8Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, Drumheller, Alberta, Canada, TOJ OY
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Abstract

Fabbri et al.1 claim that the huge sail-backed dinosaur Spinosaurus aegyptiacus and the spinosaurid Baryonyx were “subaqueous foragers,” diving underwater in pursuit of prey, based on their measure of bone “compactness.” Using thin-sections and computed tomographic (CT) scans of thigh bone (femur) and trunk rib from various living and extinct vertebrates, they claim to be able to distinguish taxa with “aquatic habits” from others. Their conclusions are undermined by selective bone sampling, inaccuracies concerning spinosaurid bone structure, faulty statistical inferences, and novel redefinition of the term “aquatic.”

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

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The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission.
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Posted April 14, 2022.
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Spinosaurids as ‘subaqueous foragers’ undermined by selective sampling and problematic statistical inference
Nathan Myhrvold, Paul C. Sereno, Stephanie L. Baumgart, Kiersten K. Formoso, Daniel Vidal, Frank E. Fish, Donald M. Henderson
bioRxiv 2022.04.13.487781; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.04.13.487781
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Spinosaurids as ‘subaqueous foragers’ undermined by selective sampling and problematic statistical inference
Nathan Myhrvold, Paul C. Sereno, Stephanie L. Baumgart, Kiersten K. Formoso, Daniel Vidal, Frank E. Fish, Donald M. Henderson
bioRxiv 2022.04.13.487781; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.04.13.487781

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