Spinosaurus: Evidence For A Sail, Not A Hump

I agree with the sail

But not the slow 20mph part

I agree with the sail too.

As far as speed goes, I meant relatively speaking. We really don't know how fast Spinosaurus was. But being that it weighed at least 4 tons(5-8 for me), I don't think Spinosaurus was a speed demon like Albertosaurus or Deltadromeus.

Completely agree, good points RexFan (next time I'll have almost the same theories as someone else, I'll post'em myself, haha)

Haha, I do always seem to beat you to it.

I agree, and an apex predator (I think Spino could be described as one, it has the size), is going to be slower than a secondary predator. 20 MPH would be a good pace for any large theropod though.

I place Giga, Spino, and Rex in the same speed category. Anywhere between 15 and 25 mph.

You beat me on this mainly because I never post my own theories/thoughts. That'll change though! ;)

And 20MPH is good to me.

I'll be sure to read what you post :)

I agree with the sail.  

As well, the neural spines are grouped too closely together for simple skin membranes to be placed between them.  The sail probably looked a lot like the one on the Spino from JP3, where there was skin, fat (however, not too much for the environment's humidity), and connective tissue covering the structure.  

I see what you mean Alphadino... and I think that's what RexFan wanted to explain by skin menbranes.

Ive seen some sites that say it could have been a place for muscle storage, like acrocanthosaurus, maybe it had some at the base, but definately not the entire thing.

I agree with the theory with the spine/hump theory, and also if you look at a camel it doesn't have bones to help form the hump,  and the hump probably wouldn't be that big to need the bones to keep the hump upright.

Overall I agree with all the comments.

Wow Spino Rex. This may be the first thing we've agreed on, haha.

A hump doesn't have to be big and thick like in that photo you posted, the structure probably would've been about a foot or two wide.

Also, skin can still grow over the hump, which would give all the benefits of a sail.

With neural spines nearly 6 ft high, it's gonna be big.

Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa...

Whoa.

WHEN and who though it had a hump? I know, in terms (considering tyranosauarus was 300 to 60 million-ish years a head of it)  It was rather primitive, but such styling for the frame and build would not happen in nature, it doesnt make sense, I know it was in desert like enviroments, but Its not a camel, which doesnt store water but fat... It would infracture its ability to reach top speeds (30 maybe 35 KMH granted that they didnt run like a sportscar) and so many thing that this effects, that doest make sense... 

Whos idea was this...?

ALSO...

forgot to mention this, BUT... Everything in nature evolved everything it has for a reason... Why would it evolve a hump, instead of a sail? 

@x_paden_x

A hump wouldn't have to be big and hick like a camel's. It would probably be thin.

Also, skin can grow over the hump, which would allow it to work in the same way as a regular sail.

Paden, I remember GigaDino, DinoFights, and a few others mention it.

Sinornithosaurus, with how big Spinosaurus was, it's gonna be big. A hump won't do much good even if it was thin and wouldn't have the same properties as a skin covered sail. With the fat and muscle in the way, it would have a hard time absorbing heat, changing color, or any of the other proposed uses for a sail. All in all, a sail is a lot more likely than a hump.

You started the best debate Scified has seen since Rex vs. Aegyptiacus.

@Rex Fan

Good point, but if it was a sail, I honestly doubt it would only be skin. A bit of muscle in there seems likely.

Well, If its a thin hump, it would be more of a sail, would it not...

Also, If it was a hump, like a full blown not thin one, it would not have those "spines" for the sails to hold it up, it would hold itself up like a camel 

However, to play the devils prada, it could use it as a stabilizer, but it would need to be thin... Or very wide...

So In conclusion, It could have a thin hump, but it wouldnt be a hump, because humps are wider. So It is most likely a sail... But could very easily be a hump, But until we have enough info for clousure its impossible to be sure...

@Rex Fan 684 Hmm, Come to think of it, I do remember, I probably forgot about it... 

Sinornithosaurus, it probably did have a network of veins and arteries to carry blood throughout it, so you're right, there would be more too it. But with a hump being pretty unnessary in its environment and the fact that a neural spine was found bitten in half, I feel safe in saying that the odds of it having a sail are about 80-85 percent with a hump being about 15-20 percent at most.

I don't think it's a hump! the Spino live in a area which its like a kialahari in preent day, in there there a lot of big prey so a hump is doesn't really needed,

if it's a sail. that's more Reasonable the climate of that time was pretty hot, so the sail is more likely to be a cooler, like elephant Ears that controling heat.

i think that the Spinosaurus did have a hump as a juvenile (like a camel, in case something happens and the youngling has to survive for longer than usual without his parents feeding him) and as he grows the hump becomes thinner and the 'spines' would start to grow faster than before

Spinosauru didn't needs to be fast, guys. He was most likely a fish-eaters. Also, Spinosaurus neural spines looks more like to the bison's (wich haves a hump) than the Dimetrodon's (wich has a sail). Sorry, but I agree with the hump.

It was most likely a sail with hollow bones used as a mating decoration and for a thermoregulation mechanisim like Dimetrodon's sail

http://content.time.com/time/today-in-pictures/0,31511,1910170,00.html

http://www.uneed2know.eu/spinosaurus-aegyptiacus-largest-meat-eater-to-walk-the-earth-aid-121

http://books.google.com/books?id=yV33AAAAQBAJ&pg=PT7&lpg=PT7&dq=spinosaurus+sail+or+hump&source=bl&ots=rbKvcgtDSw&sig=6XYbnF-Fj8BHLz6ydhg4bfgKOHw&hl=en&sa=X&ei=c6DVUuO5FKqtsAS4zoGQDQ&ved=0CHYQ6AEwCDgK#v=onepage&q=spinosaurus%20sail%20or%20hump&f=false

GigaDino, speed and whether an animal needed it is up for debate. However, the other points(environment and the bitten spine) still stand.

Nice post.

I could have told you it does not have a hump