(1) Since the discovery of its bones in the late 1800s, the Brontosaurus has been a popular dinosaur, notable for its immense si
ze and long neck and tail. (2) But for over 100 years, the Brontosaurus did not officially exist in the scientific community and instead was considered an Apatosaurus. (3) However, in 2015 a team of paleontologists performed an exhaustive study on the anatomical traits of dinosaur bones and came to a surprising conclusion: the Brontosaurus is distinct from the Apatosaurus and deserves its own genus, as the previous research was undeniably wrong.
(4) The classification of the Brontosaurus has a long history. (5) In the 1870s, paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh uncovered the remains of two different dinosaurs in Colorado; he named them Apatosaurus ajax and Brontosaurus excelsus. (6) However, in 1903, paleontologist Elmer Riggs argued that the Brontosaurus was the same genus as the Apatosaurus, only a younger version.
(7) More recently, digital technology enabled a team of paleontologists to study the fossils of 81 sauropods in greater detail than ever before. (8) In a five-year study, lead paleontologist Emanuel Tschopp and his partners analyzed hundreds of physical traits of sauropod bones, collected in high-resolution scans in digital libraries. (9) Paleontologists now debate which of the available digital scanning techniques is most effective—laser scanners, x-ray scanners, magnet scanners, mechanical digitizers, or photogrammetry methods. (10) Tschopp was surprised but excited to discover that the Brontosaurus had enough unique anatomical traits to belong in its own genus after all. (11) Most of the unique traits are not noticeable to the casual viewer or to the vintage technology used by previous paleontologists, but significantly, the Brontosaurus’s neck is narrower than the Apatosaurus’s.
(12) Tschopp’s study will be of great value to other paleontologists studying long-necked dinosaurs, and it exemplifies how scientific understanding is always evolving.
The writer is considering adding the following sentence immediately after sentence 6.
His argument was based on the assumption that the Brontosaurus’s five sacrum bones would have fused together into the Apatosaurus’s three sacrum bones with age.
Should the writer make this addition?
Yes, because the sentence provides compelling evidence to support the claim that Othniel Charles Marsh found two different dinosaurs.
A
Yes, because the sentence provides commentary that helps develop the paragraph’s explanation on how the Brontosaurus came to be misclassified.
B
Yes, because the sentence provides useful scientific research on how bones commonly fuse together over time.
C
No, because the sentence contradicts the more recent findings by Tschopp’s team, discussed in the next paragraph.
D
No, because the sentence fails to explain why the Apatosaurus got to keep its name while the Brontosaurus did not.
E
