Whoops....
Seems I opened the great cactus debate.
Sorry guys.
Didn't mean to cause this much aggravation.
For what it's worth...NOT DISPUTING anyone's expertise or knowledge...a person who may be able to chime in another expert opinion is Baja_Costero. He is zone 11 in Baja Mexico and worked in a botanical garden there.
We've been 'plant pals' for a long time on a different forum. I followed him here for that reason. NOT MUTINY!
His subscription was up in January and he helped me run one of the longest forums on cacti, agaves, aloes and succulents there. He is pretty much a master at i.d.'ing plants just like you guys are. (I've seen photos of his collection

Uhm...I don't think I'd have a spouse if I owned as much as this guy does)
So maybe tree mail him and ask him to weigh in and see if he has an opinion and possibly a tie-breaking identification verdict?
Just a suggestion. Again not questioning anyone's ability.
I feel bad

...and here I thought I was just posting a picture of a pretty golden barrel cactus

Oops.
AG
AG