cladogram based on the analysis by Arden and colleagues: A 2020 study by British paleontologist Symth and colleagues suggested that Sigilmassasaurus is synonymous with Spinosaurus and the Brazilian spinosaurine genus Oxalaia, with both genera falling into the Spinosaurus hypodigm. The putative characters supporting Sigilmassasaurus's distinction as a valid genus were discussed and found to be invalid. If supported by future research, both Sigilmassasaurus and Oxalaia would be rendered junior synonyms of Spinosaurus and expand its range, which would further support the theory of faunal interchanges between Africa and South America during the Cretaceous. A 2021 study conducted by Bradley McFeeters of Carleton University shed further light for the controversial existence of a second spinosaurid within northern Africa. The study concluded that, although limited, the new data could lend support to the controversial hypothesis that two spinosaurid taxa are represented in the Kem Kem Group. The study focused on an unusual mid-cervical vertebra belonging to a large spinosaurid from the Cenomanian Kem Kem Group of Morocco. It was compared to the characteristic morphology of each reconstructed cervical position in Spinosaurus aegyptiacus, based on a recent composite reconstruction that incorporates most previously referred material from this unit. Rather than conforming to any of the previously identified cervical positions in its morphology, the specimen displays a unique combination of mid-cervical characters, with the relatively compact centrum suggesting a position as C4, and the form of the neural arch laminae suggesting a position as C5 or C6. Furthermore, the vertebra displays two characters that are previously unknown in spinosaurid mid-cervicals from the Kem Kem Group: a rounded tuberosity present on the hypapophysis (a projection from the bottom of the vertebra) that is not continuous with a ventral keel, and a moderately developed, dorsally oriented epipophysis (a bump located on the postzygapophysis) that does not overhang the postzygapophysis posteriorly. This revelation leads to the diagnostic value of positionally variable cervical vertebral characters in spinosaurid systematics is discussed. Paleobiology On the bottoms of its cervical vertebrae, Sigilmassasaurus bore a series of highly rugged bony structures. These were suggested by Evers and colleagues as being possible evidence for substantial neck musculature, since the attachment sites of muscles and ligaments are often indicated by scarring on the bone surface. The neck muscles inferred from Sigilmassasaurus in particular would have enabled it to rapidly snatch fish out of the water, as indicated by the use of similarly placed musculature