PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Nathan Myhrvold
AU  - Paul C. Sereno
AU  - Stephanie L. Baumgart
AU  - Kiersten K. Formoso
AU  - Daniel Vidal
AU  - Frank E. Fish
AU  - Donald M. Henderson
TI  - Spinosaurids as ‘subaqueous foragers’ undermined by selective sampling and problematic statistical inference
AID  - 10.1101/2022.04.13.487781
DP  - 2022 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 2022.04.13.487781
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2022/04/14/2022.04.13.487781.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2022/04/14/2022.04.13.487781.full
AB  - 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 StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.