I have always been a fan of the skeletal models from a very talented Chinese, popular sculptor that I found via Internet 袁圣钊 (Yuan Shengzhao). I recommend any serious collector to get in contact with him. Not only his replicas are accurate but he is willing to collaborate when you raise any objections.
I like perfectionism and that is what happened here. I purchased his new Spinosaurus skeletal model, hoping that such serious 3D reproductions would be accurate to the maximum.
When it arrived, it was indeed an exquisite replica of a modern Spinosaurus skeleton… only there was a problem. I noted that the proportion of the legs were not based on the paper by Sereno, Ibrahim et al… but it was a perfect source to look at Spinosaurus from what anyone would consider the new “Ideal” …the skeleton was in fully fledged aquatic mode and the legs size were “perfect”… only that the perfection was for an ideal model that is still not verified by the evidence…!
So noting that, I made him aware that the legs ‘should’ heve been at least a quarter shorter… and to my amazement he offered to correct it based on the Ibrahim model… and here you have it.
He sent me the corrected legs and now I have TWO sets of legs that I can compare (and maybe change in the future, who knows!).
So everything goes down to the legs…Yes you might like the longer legs better, but actually the final product is the one I display now and will serve me for future refereece in my new aquatic reconstructions of Spinosaurus…. this is a sketch of one that will be finished very soon.
Luis V. Rey Blog 