Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin (ISSN 0178 – 6288) . Number 120, December 2014, pp. 1-29. | Page 12
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The third named Amphicoelias species, Amphicoelias fragillimus, is known only
from a single, incomplete 1.5 m tall neural arch (the part of a vertebra with spines
and processes), either last or second to last in the series of back vertebrae, D
(dorsal) 10 or D9, that would have measured 2.7 metres (8.8 feet) long in life. In
addition to this single vertebra, Cope's field notes contain an entry for an
"[i]mmense distal end of femur‖, located only a few tens of meters away from the
giant vertebra. It is likely that this undescribed leg bone belonged to the same
individual animal as the neural spine (Wikipedia).
In 2010, a monograph was made available, but not formally published, by Henry
Galiano and Raimund Albersdörfer in which they referred a fourth species
to Amphicoelias, as "Amphicoelias brontodiplodocus" based on several complete
specimens found in the Dana Quarry of Big Horn Basin, Wyoming, USA and
held in a private collection. The specific name referred to their hypothesis based
on these specimens that nearly all Morrison diplodocid species are either growth
stages or represent sexual dimorphism among members of the genus
Amphicoelias, but this analysis has been met with skepticism and the publication
itself has been disclaimed by its lead author, explaining that it is "obviously a
drafted manuscript complete with typos, etc., and not a final paper. In fact, no
printing or distribution has been attempted" (Wikipedia).
Hind legs bones of the Long-necked Whip-tailed Sauropod Dinosaur (Amphicoelias
brontodiplodocus Galiano and Albersdörfer, 2010) at Dubai Mall, Dubai, UAE. Photo by
Prof. Dr. Sc. Norman Ali Bassam Khalaf-von Jaffa. 08.04.2014.
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Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – Number 120 – December 2014