University College London

Mike Taylor

In a comment on [the
initial](http://svpow.wordpress.com/2010/06/11/what’s-the-deal-with-your-wacky-tail-club-shunosaurus/)
*[Shunosaurus](http://svpow.wordpress.com/2010/06/11/what’s-the-deal-with-your-wacky-tail-club-shunosaurus/)*
[tail-club
post](http://svpow.wordpress.com/2010/06/11/what’s-the-deal-with-your-wacky-tail-club-shunosaurus/),
Jaime Headden [pointed
out](http://svpow.wordpress.com/2010/06/11/what’s-the-deal-with-your-wacky-tail-club-shunosaurus/#comment-6584)
the passage in
[the](http://svpow.wordpress.com/2009/09/16/not-a-brachiosaur-but-too-good-to-ignore/)
*[Spinophorosaurus](http://svpow.wordpress.com/2009/09/16/not-a-brachiosaur-but-too-good-to-ignore/)*
[paper](http://svpow.wordpress.com/2009/09/16/not-a-brachiosaur-but-too-good-to-ignore/)
(Remes et al. 2009) that discusses the club of *Shunosaurus* (as
justification for positioning the *Spinophorosaurus* osteoderms on the
end of its tail):

> With the holotypic skeleton, two closely associated dermal
>  ossifications were found originating from contralateral sides  (Fig.
> 4A--C). These elements have a subcircular base that is  rugose and
> concave on its medial side, and bear a caudodorsally  projecting bony
> spike with a rounded tip laterally. Although these  elements were
> found in the pelvic region under the dislocated  scapula, we regard it
> as most probable that they were placed on  the distal tail in the
> living animal for the following reasons: First,  the close association
> of the contralateral elements indicates they  were originally placed
> near the (dorsal) midline of the body.  Second, the stiffening of the
> distal tail by specialized chevrons is  also found in other groups of
> dinosaurs that exhibit tail armor  \[42,43\]. Third, osteoderms of
> similar shape are known from the  closely related basal eusauropod
> *Shunosaurus* \[26\]. In the latter  form, these elements cover the
> middle part of a tail club formed by  coalesced distal vertebrae;
> however, the decreasing size of the distal-most caudal vertebrae of
> *Spinophorosaurus* indicate that such a  club was not present in this
> genus. The right osteoderm is slightly  larger and differs in
> proportions from the left element, indicating  that, as in Shunosaurus
> \[26\], originally two pairs of tail spines were  present (Fig. 5).
>
> --- Remes et al. (2009:6-8)

And this gives the reference that I needed for the *Shunosaurus*
tail-spikes (as opposed to the club) --- reference 26 is Zhang (1988),
which, embarrassingly, we've featured here on SV-POW! in [our
first](http://svpow.wordpress.com/2010/03/08/whats-the-deal-with-your-wacky-postparapophyses-shunosaurus/)
*[Shunosaurus](http://svpow.wordpress.com/2010/03/08/whats-the-deal-with-your-wacky-postparapophyses-shunosaurus/)*
[post](http://svpow.wordpress.com/2010/03/08/whats-the-deal-with-your-wacky-postparapophyses-shunosaurus/).
 Evidently I was so focussed on preparapophyses when I looked at that
monograph that I completely failed to register the tail-club spikes ---
but then, which of us can truly say he has not made that mistake?

Anyway, here's what Zhang has to show us:

[![](https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/zhang1988-shunosaurus-fig39-distal-tail.jpeg?w=480&h=144 "Zhang1988-shunosaurus-fig39-distal-tail"){.alignnone
.size-full .wp-image-2730 loading="lazy" attachment-id="2730"
permalink="http://svpow.com/2010/06/21/the-shunosaurus-tail-club-revisited/zhang1988-shunosaurus-fig39-distal-tail/"
orig-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/zhang1988-shunosaurus-fig39-distal-tail.jpeg"
orig-size="1828,550" comments-opened="1"
image-meta="{\"aperture\":\"0\",\"credit\":\"\",\"camera\":\"\",\"caption\":\"\",\"created_timestamp\":\"0\",\"copyright\":\"\",\"focal_length\":\"0\",\"iso\":\"0\",\"shutter_speed\":\"0\",\"title\":\"\"}"
image-title="Zhang1988-shunosaurus-fig39-distal-tail"
image-description="" image-caption=""
medium-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/zhang1988-shunosaurus-fig39-distal-tail.jpeg?w=300"
large-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/zhang1988-shunosaurus-fig39-distal-tail.jpeg?w=1024"
width="480" height="144"
srcset="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/zhang1988-shunosaurus-fig39-distal-tail.jpeg?w=480&h=144 480w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/zhang1988-shunosaurus-fig39-distal-tail.jpeg?w=957&h=288 957w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/zhang1988-shunosaurus-fig39-distal-tail.jpeg?w=150&h=45 150w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/zhang1988-shunosaurus-fig39-distal-tail.jpeg?w=300&h=90 300w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/zhang1988-shunosaurus-fig39-distal-tail.jpeg?w=768&h=231 768w"
sizes="(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px"}](http://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/zhang1988-shunosaurus-fig39-distal-tail.jpeg)

And here's that tail again, this time from the poorly reproduced
photographic plate 12, part 1, and in right lateral view:

[![](https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/zhang1988-shunosaurus-plate12-part1-tail-club.jpeg?w=480&h=120 "Zhang1988-shunosaurus-plate12-part1-tail-club"){.alignnone
.size-full .wp-image-2731 loading="lazy" attachment-id="2731"
permalink="http://svpow.com/2010/06/21/the-shunosaurus-tail-club-revisited/zhang1988-shunosaurus-plate12-part1-tail-club/"
orig-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/zhang1988-shunosaurus-plate12-part1-tail-club.jpeg"
orig-size="1604,404" comments-opened="1"
image-meta="{\"aperture\":\"0\",\"credit\":\"\",\"camera\":\"\",\"caption\":\"\",\"created_timestamp\":\"0\",\"copyright\":\"\",\"focal_length\":\"0\",\"iso\":\"0\",\"shutter_speed\":\"0\",\"title\":\"\"}"
image-title="Zhang1988-shunosaurus-plate12-part1-tail-club"
image-description="" image-caption=""
medium-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/zhang1988-shunosaurus-plate12-part1-tail-club.jpeg?w=300"
large-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/zhang1988-shunosaurus-plate12-part1-tail-club.jpeg?w=1024"
width="480" height="120"
srcset="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/zhang1988-shunosaurus-plate12-part1-tail-club.jpeg?w=476&h=120 476w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/zhang1988-shunosaurus-plate12-part1-tail-club.jpeg?w=953&h=240 953w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/zhang1988-shunosaurus-plate12-part1-tail-club.jpeg?w=150&h=38 150w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/zhang1988-shunosaurus-plate12-part1-tail-club.jpeg?w=300&h=76 300w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/zhang1988-shunosaurus-plate12-part1-tail-club.jpeg?w=768&h=193 768w"
sizes="(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px"}](http://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/zhang1988-shunosaurus-plate12-part1-tail-club.jpeg)

It's apparent that this really is the other side of the distal tail
(rather than a reversed image of the same side) because the osteoderms
are in front of the club vertebrae in the left-lateral figure, but
behind them in the right-lateral plate.

It would be great to say more about these, but the English language
summary of Zhang's monograph is understandably brief, constituting six
pages of the 90.  What's not quite so understandable is that neither the
diagnosis of the genus *Shunosaurus* nor that of the species *S*. *lii*
mentions the tail-club or spikes, which are arguably the most
distinctive features.  The "revised diagnosis" on pp. 78-79 does,
however --- just:

> Posterior caudals platycoelous, with small cylindrical centra; neural
> spines low, rod-like.  In several last caudals swollen ralidly \[sic\]
> and forming "tail-mace"; in addition there are two pairs of little
> caudal spines, being analogous to that of stegosaurs.

Not much to go on, but something.  That's all, though --- there is no
further description, and crucially, no indication of whether the tail
elements were found articulated or whether the spikes were found
isolated and subsequently moved to the end of the tail.  It may be that
Remes at al. know something I don't, of course --- they might have a
translation of Zhang (1988) --- but if not, then it's amusing to
consider that the spikes on the tail of *Shunosaurus* may or may not be
supported by evidence, and that the inference of tail-spikes on
*Spinophorosaurus* might be based on dodgy premises.

The other thing that struck me forcibly, as I looked at the figure and
plate above, is that the caudal vertebrae remain fairly complex all the
way to the end: they retain distinct and prominent neural spines, unlike
the [distal caudal vertebrae of
diplodocids](http://svpow.wordpress.com/2008/02/07/michaelangelo’s-weapon-of-choice-or-exceeding-344-ms-by-way-of-a-flagellicaudatan-appendage/)
and brachiosaurs.  I notice that the distal caudals of
*Spinophorosaurus* also seem to be complex, based on fig. 3H-I and also
on the skeletal reconstruction that is fig. 5 --- both of which [we've
reproduced
before](http://svpow.wordpress.com/2009/09/16/not-a-brachiosaur-but-too-good-to-ignore/),
in our old *Spinophorosaurus* article.

So what's going on here?  Are *Shunosaurus* and *Spinophorosaurus*
unusual in having distal caudals that retain complex neural spines?  If
so, is this property correlated with the possession of a tail-club
and/or spines?  Is it causally related?  Or could it be that this is
normal for basal eusauropods, and my ideas of sauropod tails have been
too coloured by extreme neosauropodocentricity?  Clearly I ought to go
and look at a lot more basal sauropods' distal tails before publishing
this post.  And prosauropods', theropods', ornithischians', pterosaurs',
crocadilians' and lizards' distal tails.

As it happens, the one non-neosauropod group of reptiles whose distal
tails I do know something about is monitor lizards, thanks to my
adventures with [the corpse of
"Charlie"](http://svpow.wordpress.com/2009/08/30/four-complete-articulated-extant-sauropod-skeletons-yes-really/).
 And those caudals do maintain astonishingly detailed structure right to
the end of the tail, with even absolutely tiny caudals having distinct
processes.  Here are some photographs that show this.

First, one showing all 56 caudal vertebrae (the 1st is half in frame at
top right, next to the sacrum; the rest read from left to right on
successive rows, like words on a page).

[![](https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/monitor-lizard-tail-skeleton.jpeg?w=480&h=226 "monitor-lizard-tail-skeleton"){.alignnone
.size-full .wp-image-2733 loading="lazy" attachment-id="2733"
permalink="http://svpow.com/2010/06/21/the-shunosaurus-tail-club-revisited/monitor-lizard-tail-skeleton/"
orig-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/monitor-lizard-tail-skeleton.jpeg"
orig-size="1053,497" comments-opened="1"
image-meta="{\"aperture\":\"8.2\",\"credit\":\"\",\"camera\":\"E4500\",\"caption\":\"\",\"created_timestamp\":\"1251544897\",\"copyright\":\"\",\"focal_length\":\"10.4\",\"iso\":\"100\",\"shutter_speed\":\"0.0017921146953405\",\"title\":\"\"}"
image-title="monitor-lizard-tail-skeleton" image-description=""
image-caption=""
medium-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/monitor-lizard-tail-skeleton.jpeg?w=300"
large-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/monitor-lizard-tail-skeleton.jpeg?w=1024"
width="480" height="226"
srcset="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/monitor-lizard-tail-skeleton.jpeg?w=480&h=226 480w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/monitor-lizard-tail-skeleton.jpeg?w=958&h=452 958w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/monitor-lizard-tail-skeleton.jpeg?w=150&h=71 150w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/monitor-lizard-tail-skeleton.jpeg?w=300&h=142 300w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/monitor-lizard-tail-skeleton.jpeg?w=768&h=362 768w"
sizes="(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px"}](http://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/monitor-lizard-tail-skeleton.jpeg)

Now here are five representative caudals from different regions on the
tail --- the last ones from each row in the picture above, as it
happens: caudals 1, 10, 21, 30, 42 and 56.  They are in more or less
dorsal view, though caudal 1 has fallen forward onto its anterior face.
 In this and subsequent pictures, caudal 10 (the second shown) is  for
some reason back to front.

[![](https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/dscn8312.jpg?w=480&h=180 "DSCN8312"){.alignnone
.size-full .wp-image-2760 loading="lazy" attachment-id="2760"
permalink="http://svpow.com/2010/06/21/the-shunosaurus-tail-club-revisited/dscn8312/"
orig-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/dscn8312.jpg"
orig-size="2272,852" comments-opened="1"
image-meta="{\"aperture\":\"3.3\",\"credit\":\"\",\"camera\":\"E4500\",\"caption\":\"\",\"created_timestamp\":\"1274440880\",\"copyright\":\"\",\"focal_length\":\"14.4\",\"iso\":\"100\",\"shutter_speed\":\"0.016835016835017\",\"title\":\"\"}"
image-title="DSCN8312" image-description="" image-caption=""
medium-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/dscn8312.jpg?w=300"
large-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/dscn8312.jpg?w=1024"
width="480" height="180"
srcset="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/dscn8312.jpg?w=480&h=180 480w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/dscn8312.jpg?w=960&h=360 960w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/dscn8312.jpg?w=150&h=56 150w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/dscn8312.jpg?w=300&h=113 300w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/dscn8312.jpg?w=768&h=288 768w"
sizes="(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px"}](http://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/dscn8312.jpg)

Now here are the same vertebrae, in the same order and orientation, but
now in left dorsolateral aspect (except caudal 10 which is of course in
right dorsolateral):

[![](https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/dscn8313.jpg?w=480&h=180 "DSCN8313"){.alignnone
.size-full .wp-image-2761 loading="lazy" attachment-id="2761"
permalink="http://svpow.com/2010/06/21/the-shunosaurus-tail-club-revisited/dscn8313/"
orig-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/dscn8313.jpg"
orig-size="2272,852" comments-opened="1"
image-meta="{\"aperture\":\"3.4\",\"credit\":\"\",\"camera\":\"E4500\",\"caption\":\"\",\"created_timestamp\":\"1274440929\",\"copyright\":\"\",\"focal_length\":\"11.6\",\"iso\":\"100\",\"shutter_speed\":\"0.011248593925759\",\"title\":\"\"}"
image-title="DSCN8313" image-description="" image-caption=""
medium-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/dscn8313.jpg?w=300"
large-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/dscn8313.jpg?w=1024"
width="480" height="180"
srcset="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/dscn8313.jpg?w=480&h=180 480w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/dscn8313.jpg?w=960&h=360 960w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/dscn8313.jpg?w=150&h=56 150w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/dscn8313.jpg?w=300&h=113 300w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/dscn8313.jpg?w=768&h=288 768w"
sizes="(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px"}](http://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/dscn8313.jpg)

Finally, here are the three smallest of these vertebrae (numbers 30, 42
and 56) in close-up, again in left dorsolateral view, so you can more
easily see how much structure even the distalmost caudal has:

[![](https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/dscn8315.jpg?w=480&h=180 "DSCN8315"){.alignnone
.size-full .wp-image-2762 loading="lazy" attachment-id="2762"
permalink="http://svpow.com/2010/06/21/the-shunosaurus-tail-club-revisited/dscn8315/"
orig-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/dscn8315.jpg"
orig-size="2272,852" comments-opened="1"
image-meta="{\"aperture\":\"4.8\",\"credit\":\"\",\"camera\":\"E4500\",\"caption\":\"\",\"created_timestamp\":\"1274440995\",\"copyright\":\"\",\"focal_length\":\"28.9\",\"iso\":\"100\",\"shutter_speed\":\"0.026455026455026\",\"title\":\"\"}"
image-title="DSCN8315" image-description="" image-caption=""
medium-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/dscn8315.jpg?w=300"
large-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/dscn8315.jpg?w=1024"
width="480" height="180"
srcset="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/dscn8315.jpg?w=480&h=180 480w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/dscn8315.jpg?w=960&h=360 960w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/dscn8315.jpg?w=150&h=56 150w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/dscn8315.jpg?w=300&h=113 300w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/dscn8315.jpg?w=768&h=288 768w"
sizes="(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px"}](http://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/dscn8315.jpg)

That last caudal is about 2.5 mm long.

(It's interesting that caudals 30 and 42 have those cute [fused
chevrons](http://svpow.wordpress.com/2009/03/09/cetiosaurus-pelorosaurus-streptospondylus-or-maybe-iguanodon-in-bizarre-fused-chevrons-scandal/).)

So anyway: we know that caudal vertebrae retain distinct structure all
the way down to the tip of the tail in monitor lizards at least some
basal eusauropods: could it be that this is the primitive state, and
that degenerate caudals are found only in neosauropods and mammals?
 Gotta prep out some more animals' skeletons and find out!

# References

- [Remes, Kristian, Francisco Ortega, Ignacio Fierro, Ulrich Joger, Ralf
  Kosma, Jose Manuel Marin Ferrer, for the Project PALDES, for the Niger
  Project SNHM, Oumarou Amadou Ide, and Abdoulaye Maga. 2009. A new
  basal sauropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of Niger and the
  early evolution of Sauropoda. PLoS ONE 4(9):e6924.
  doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0006924](http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0006924)
- Zhang Yihong. 1988. The Middle Jurassic dinosaur fauna from Dashanpu,
  Zigong, Sichuam, vol. 1: sauropod dinosaur (I): *Shunosaurus*. Sichuan
  Publishing House of Science and Technology, Chengdu, China.


In a comment on the initial

 Shunosaurus

tail-club post, Jaime Headden pointed out the passage in the

 Spinophorosaurus

paper (Remes et al. 2009) that discusses the club of

 Shunosaurus

(as justification for positioning the

 Spinophorosaurus

osteoderms on the end of its tail): And this gives the reference that I needed for the

 Shunosaurus

tail-spikes (as opposed to the club) — reference 26 is Zhang

The Shunosaurus tail-club, revisited: spikes, and complex distal caudals

Western University of Health Sciences

Matt Wedel

[![](https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/mamenchisaurus-tail-club-from-xing-et-al-2009.jpg?w=480&h=403 "Mamenchisaurus tail club from Xing et al 2009"){.aligncenter
.size-full .wp-image-2602 attachment-id="2602"
permalink="http://svpow.com/2010/03/30/mamenchisaurus-tail-club-again/mamenchisaurus-tail-club-from-xing-et-al-2009/"
orig-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/mamenchisaurus-tail-club-from-xing-et-al-2009.jpg"
orig-size="744,625" comments-opened="1"
image-meta="{\"aperture\":\"0\",\"credit\":\"\",\"camera\":\"\",\"caption\":\"\",\"created_timestamp\":\"0\",\"copyright\":\"\",\"focal_length\":\"0\",\"iso\":\"0\",\"shutter_speed\":\"0\",\"title\":\"\"}"
image-title="Mamenchisaurus tail club from Xing et al 2009"
image-description="" image-caption=""
medium-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/mamenchisaurus-tail-club-from-xing-et-al-2009.jpg?w=300"
large-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/mamenchisaurus-tail-club-from-xing-et-al-2009.jpg?w=744"
loading="lazy" width="480" height="403"
srcset="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/mamenchisaurus-tail-club-from-xing-et-al-2009.jpg?w=480&h=403 480w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/mamenchisaurus-tail-club-from-xing-et-al-2009.jpg?w=150&h=126 150w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/mamenchisaurus-tail-club-from-xing-et-al-2009.jpg?w=300&h=252 300w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/mamenchisaurus-tail-club-from-xing-et-al-2009.jpg 744w"
sizes="(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px"}](http://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/mamenchisaurus-tail-club-from-xing-et-al-2009.jpg)

In color, this time, with multiple views, thanks to Xing et al. (2009).
They also did a finite element analysis of the tail club and concluded
that it was a fairly pathetic weapon. Xing et al. closed by supporting
the contention of Ye et al. (2001) that the tail club was a sensory
organ. As they stated at the end of the abstract:

> The tail club of *Mamenchisaurus hochuanensis* probably also had
> limitations as a defense weapon and was more possibly a sensory organ
> to improve nerve conduction velocity to enhance the capacity for
> sensory perception of its surroundings.

One thing Xing et al. (2009) cite in support of this is the expanded
neural canal inside the club, which they compare to the sacral
enlargement in stegosaurs and to the glycogen bodies of birds. They rule
out a glycogen body on the grounds that the sacral enlargement in
stegosaurs is much bigger than the brain volume, whereas the neural
canal enlargement in the *M. hochuanensis* tail club is much smaller (if
you don't follow that logic, don't worry, neither do I).

I'm not sure what to make of this thing. On one hand, it would be nice
to have more than one club available to rule out the possibility that
it's just a weird paleopathology. On the other hand, it looks oddly
regular to be pathological, and the definitive clubs in *Shunosaurus*
and *Omeisaurus* are at least weak support for this being a genuine
feature, although the clubs of the former taxa look very different.

Furthermore, I don't understand how the authors can rule out the
presence of a glycogen body based on the size of the neural expansion
alone--especially since the functions of glycogen bodies in extant taxa
are very poorly understood (as you may remember from [this
dustup](http://svpow.wordpress.com/2009/12/15/lies-damned-lies-and-clash-of-the-dinosaurs/)).
Nor can I fathom how a titchy little nerve bundle--if such existed--down
at the end of the tail could do much to improve nerve conduction
velocity up the rest of the tail. Either my understanding of
neuroscience is completely shot, or this hypothesis...lacks support. I
am open to being enlightened either way.

Finally, I am disappointed that the authors didn't pursue the
cutting-edge [pseudohead
hypothesis](http://svpow.wordpress.com/2009/02/02/ahead-by-a-tail/) that
has figured prominently here and
[elsewhere](http://runningponies.com/2009/02/23/wise-up-mamenchisaurus/)
in the blogosphere. There's a Nobel lurking in there, I just know it.

**References**

- Xing, L, Ye, Y., Shu, C., Peng, G., and You, H. 2009. Structure,
  orientation, and finite element analysis of the tail club of
  *Mamenchisaurus hochuanensis*. Acta Geologica Sinica 83(6):1031-1040.
- Ye, Y., Ouyang, H., and Fu, Q.-M. 2001. New material of
  *Mamenchisaurus hochuanensis* from Zigong, Sichuan. Vertebrata
  PalAsiatica 39(4):266-271.


{.aligncenter .size-full .wp-image-2602 attachment-id=“2602” permalink=“http://svpow.com/2010/03/30/mamenchisaurus-tail-club-again/mamenchisaurus-tail-club-from-xing-et-al-2009/” orig-file=“https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/mamenchisaurus-tail-club-from-xing-et-al-2009.jpg” orig-size=“744,625” comments-opened=“1”

Mamenchisaurus tail club, again

I am not usually one for field photographs --- I am not a geologist, and
one bit of rock looks the same as any other to me.  I suffer from a
debilitating condition that renders me unable to see fossils in the
ground, and am reliant on other people to dig 'em out, clean 'em up and
reposit them before I'm able to make 'em into science.

But this ... this blew me away:[]{#fig1}

::: {#attachment_2117 .wp-caption .alignnone shortcode="caption" style="width: 490px"}
[![Spinophorosaurus nigerensis, holotype skeleton GCP-CV-4229 in situ
during excavation in the region of Aderbissinat, Thirozerine Dept.,
Agadez Region, Republic of Niger (Remes et al. 2009:fig.
1)](https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/remesetal2009-spinophorosaurus-fig1-field-photo.jpeg?w=480&h=313 "RemesEtAl2009-spinophorosaurus-fig1-field-photo"){.size-full
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attachment-id="2117"
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image-title="RemesEtAl2009-spinophorosaurus-fig1-field-photo"
image-description=""
image-caption="Spinophorosaurus nigerensis, holotype skeleton GCP-CV-4229 in situ during excavation in the region of Aderbissinat, Thirozerine Dept., Agadez Region, Republic of Niger (Remes et al. 2009)
"
medium-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/remesetal2009-spinophorosaurus-fig1-field-photo.jpeg?w=300"
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sizes="(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px"}](http://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/remesetal2009-spinophorosaurus-fig1-field-photo.jpeg)

Spinophorosaurus nigerensis, holotype skeleton GCP-CV-4229 in situ
during excavation in the region of Aderbissinat, Thirozerine Dept.,
Agadez Region, Republic of Niger. (Remes et al. 2009:fig. 1)
:::

It's the astonishingly complete and well-preserved type specimen of a
new basal sauropod, *Spinophorosaurus*, that came out today in a paper
lead-authored by Kristian Remes, previously best known for his work on
Tendaguru diplodocines (Remes 2006, 2007, 2009) and for his work on [the
awesome remounting of the Berlin
brachiosaur](http://svpow.wordpress.com/2008/11/27/shedloads-of-awesome-part-1-the-humboldt-brachiosaur-remount/).

I'm not going to write the new taxon up in detail, but here are the
figures of its vertebrae:[]{#fig3}

::: {#attachment_2118 .wp-caption .alignnone shortcode="caption" style="width: 490px"}
[![Spinophorosaurus nigerensis GCP-CV-4229 (holotype; C, E-I) and
NMB-1698-R (paratype; A, B, D). (A, B)--- Mid-cervical vertebra in left
lateral (A) and ventral (B) views. (C)--- Last dorsal and first sacral
vertebrae in left lateral view. (D)--- Clavicle in cranial view. (E,
F)--- Proximal caudal neural spines in lateral (E) and cranial (F)
views. (G)--- Mid-caudal vertebra in lateral view. (H, I)--- Distal
caudal vertebrae in left lateral (H) and ventral (I) views.
Abbreviations: pcdl, posterior centrodiapophyseal lamina; podl,
postzygodiapophyseal lamina; spol, spinopostzygapophyseal lamina. Scale
bars = 10 cm. (Remes et al. 2009:fig.
3)](https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/remesetal2009-spinophorosaurus-fig3-vertebrae.jpeg?w=480&h=430 "RemesEtAl2009-spinophorosaurus-fig3-vertebrae"){.size-full
.wp-image-2118 aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2118" loading="lazy"
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image-title="RemesEtAl2009-spinophorosaurus-fig3-vertebrae"
image-description=""
image-caption="Spinophorosaurus nigerensis GCP-CV-4229 (holotype; C, E-I) and NMB-1698-R (paratype; A, B, D). (A, B)— Mid-cervical vertebra in left lateral (A) and ventral (B) views. (C)— Last dorsal and first sacral vertebrae in left lateral view. (D)— Clavicle in cranial view. (E, F)— Proximal caudal neural spines in lateral (E) and cranial (F) views. (G)— Mid-caudal vertebra in lateral view. (H, I)— Distal caudal vertebrae in left lateral (H) and ventral (I) views. Abbreviations: pcdl, posterior centrodiapophyseal lamina; podl, postzygodiapophyseal lamina; spol, spinopostzygapophyseal lamina. Scale bars = 10 cm. (Remes et al. 2009:fig. 3)
"
medium-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/remesetal2009-spinophorosaurus-fig3-vertebrae.jpeg?w=300"
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sizes="(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px"}](http://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/remesetal2009-spinophorosaurus-fig3-vertebrae.jpeg)

Spinophorosaurus nigerensis GCP-CV-4229 (holotype; C, E-I) and
NMB-1698-R (paratype; A, B, D). (A, B)--- Mid-cervical vertebra in left
lateral (A) and ventral (B) views. (C)--- Last dorsal and first sacral
vertebrae in left lateral view. (D)--- Clavicle in cranial view. (E,
F)--- Proximal caudal neural spines in lateral (E) and cranial (F)
views. (G)--- Mid-caudal vertebra in lateral view. (H, I)--- Distal
caudal vertebrae in left lateral (H) and ventral (I) views.
Abbreviations: pcdl, posterior centrodiapophyseal lamina; podl,
postzygodiapophyseal lamina; spol, spinopostzygapophyseal lamina. Scale
bars = 10 cm. (Remes et al. 2009:fig. 3)
:::

(It's a shame they didn't figure more of it, especially as the paper was
in PLoS ONE which has no length limits and absolutely stellar figure
production, but it would be churlish to complain.)

Finally, here is the skeletal reconstruction: as you can see, it's a
decent size for such a basal sauropod.  Note the freaky all-osteoderm
tail-club.[]{#fig5}

::: {#attachment_2119 .wp-caption .alignnone shortcode="caption" style="width: 490px"}
[![xx](https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/remesetal2009-spinophorosaurus-fig5-reconstruction.jpeg?w=480&h=172 "RemesEtAl2009-spinophorosaurus-fig5-reconstruction"){.size-full
.wp-image-2119 aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2119" loading="lazy"
attachment-id="2119"
permalink="http://svpow.com/2009/09/16/not-a-brachiosaur-but-too-good-to-ignore/remesetal2009-spinophorosaurus-fig5-reconstruction/"
orig-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/remesetal2009-spinophorosaurus-fig5-reconstruction.jpeg"
orig-size="1034,372" comments-opened="1"
image-meta="{\"aperture\":\"0\",\"credit\":\"\",\"camera\":\"\",\"caption\":\"\",\"created_timestamp\":\"0\",\"copyright\":\"\",\"focal_length\":\"0\",\"iso\":\"0\",\"shutter_speed\":\"0\",\"title\":\"\"}"
image-title="RemesEtAl2009-spinophorosaurus-fig5-reconstruction"
image-description=""
image-caption="Original skeletal reconstruction of Spinophorosaurus nigerensis (Remes et al. 2009:figure 5) 
Dimensions are based on GCP-CV-4229/NMB-1699-R, elements that are not represented are shaded. Scale bar = 1 m.
"
medium-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/remesetal2009-spinophorosaurus-fig5-reconstruction.jpeg?w=300"
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sizes="(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px"}](http://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/remesetal2009-spinophorosaurus-fig5-reconstruction.jpeg)

Skeletal reconstruction of Spinophorosaurus nigerensis. Dimensions are
based on GCP-CV-4229/NMB-1699-R, elements that are not represented are
shaded. Scale bar = 1 m. (Remes et al. 2009:fig. 5)
:::

A truly amazing specimen --- I am looking forward to sitting down with
the paper and giving it the attention it deserves.

Best of all, *you* can also sit down with the paper --- because, like
all PLoS articles, it is freely available to anyone who wants it.
 Follow the link below and enjoy!  (Also available from the linked
article: super-high resolution images of the figures.)

**Timely Discussion From an E-mail Exchange Today**

Matt Wedel: That animal is just flat badass.

[Zach Miller](http://whenpigsfly-returns.blogspot.com/): It has a
goddamn thagomizer!!!

# References

::: {#_mcePaste style="position:absolute;left:-10000px;top:1186px;width:1px;height:1px;"}
Remes, Kristian.  2006.  Revision of the Tendaguru sauropod dinosaur
Tornieria africana (Fraas) and its relevance for sauropod
paleobiogeography.  Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 26(3):651-669.
:::

::: {#_mcePaste style="position:absolute;left:-10000px;top:1186px;width:1px;height:1px;"}
Remes, Kristian.  2007.  A second Gondwanan diplodocoid dinosaur from
the Upper Jurassic Tendaguru Beds of Tanzania, East Africa. Paleontology
50(3):653-667.
:::

::: {#_mcePaste style="position:absolute;left:-10000px;top:1186px;width:1px;height:1px;"}
Remes, Kristian.  2009.  Taxonomy of Late Jurassic diplodocid sauropods
from Tendaguru (Tanzania).  Fossil Record 12 (1): 23-46. doi:
10.1002/mmng.200800008
:::

::: {#_mcePaste style="position:absolute;left:-10000px;top:1186px;width:1px;height:1px;"}
Remes, Kristian, Francisco Ortega, Ignacio Fierro, Ulrich Joger, Ralf
Kosma, Jose Manuel Marin Ferrer, for the Project PALDES, for the Niger
Project SNHM, Oumarou Amadou Ide, and Abdoulaye Maga.  2009.  A new
basal sauropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of Niger and the early
evolution of Sauropoda.  PLoS ONE 4(9):e6924.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0006924
:::

- Remes, Kristian.  2006.  Revision of the Tendaguru sauropod dinosaur
 *Tornieria africana* (Fraas) and its relevance for sauropod
 paleobiogeography.  Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 26(3):651-669.
- Remes, Kristian.  2007.  A second Gondwanan diplodocoid dinosaur from
 the Upper Jurassic Tendaguru Beds of Tanzania, East Africa.
 Paleontology 50(3):653-667.
- Remes, Kristian.  2009.  Taxonomy of Late Jurassic diplodocid
 sauropods from Tendaguru (Tanzania).  Fossil Record 12 (1): 23-46.
 doi: 10.1002/mmng.200800008
- [Remes, Kristian, Francisco Ortega, Ignacio Fierro, Ulrich Joger, Ralf
 Kosma, Jose Manuel Marin Ferrer, for the Project PALDES, for the Niger
 Project SNHM, Oumarou Amadou Ide, and Abdoulaye Maga.  2009.  A new
 basal sauropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of Niger and the
 early evolution of Sauropoda.  PLoS ONE 4(9):e6924.
 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0006924](http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0006924)

I am not usually one for field photographs — I am not a geologist, and one bit of rock looks the same as any other to me.  I suffer from a debilitating condition that renders me unable to see fossils in the ground, and am reliant on other people to dig ’em out, clean ’em up and reposit them before I’m able to make ’em into science.

Messaggi di Rogue Scholar

The Shunosaurus tail-club, revisited: spikes, and complex distal caudals

Mamenchisaurus tail club, again

Not a brachiosaur, but too good to ignore