Suchomimus (meaning "crocodile mimic") is a genus of spinosaurid dinosaur that lived between 125 and 112 million years ago in what is now Niger, during the Aptian to early Albian stages of the Early Cretaceous period. The animal was named and described by palaeontologist Paul Sereno and colleagues in 1998, based on a partial skeleton from the Elrhaz Formation. Suchomimus's long and shallow skull, similar to that of a crocodile, earns it its generic name, while the specific name Suchomimus tenerensis alludes to the locality of its first remains, the Ténéré Desert.
Suchomimus was 9.5 to 11 metres (31 to 36 feet) long and weighed between 2.5 to 5.2 tonnes (2.8 to 5.7 short tons), although the holotype specimen may not have been fully grown. Suchomimus's narrow skull was perched on a short neck, and its forelimbs were powerfully built, bearing a giant claw on each thumb. Along the midline of the animal's back ran a low dorsal sail, built from the long neural spines of its vertebrae. Like other spinosaurids, it likely had a diet of fish and small prey animals.
Some palaeontologists consider the animal to be an African species of the European spinosaurid Baryonyx, B. tenerensis. Suchomimus might also be a junior synonym of the contemporaneous spinosaurid Cristatusaurus lapparenti, although the latter taxon is based on much more fragmentary remains. Suchomimus lived in a fluvial environment of vast floodplains alongside many other dinosaurs, in addition to pterosaurs, crocodylomorphs, fish, turtles, and bivalves.
Discovery and naming[]
Outcrops of the Erlhaz Formation, (Gadoufaoua in lower right)
[1]In the year 1997 American palaeontologist Paul Sereno and his team, at Gadoufaoua discovered Fossils that represented about two-thirds of a large theropod dinosaur skeleton in Niger. The first find, was a giant giant thumb claw, was made on 4 December 1997 by David Varricchio. In 1998, Sereno, Allison Beck, Didier Dutheil, Boubacar Gado, Hans Larsson, Gabrielle Lyon, Jonathan Marcot, Oliver Rauhut, Rudyard Sadleir, Christian Sidor, David Varricchio, Gregory Wilson and Jeffrey Wilson named and described the type species Suchomimus tenerensis. The generic name Suchomimus ("crocodile mimic") is derived from the Ancient Greek σοῦχος, souchos, the Greek name for the Egyptian crocodile god Sobek, and μῖμος, mimos, "mimic", after the shape of the animal's head. The specific name tenerensis is after the Ténéré Desert where the animal was found.
MNN GDF500 is the holotype that was found in the Tegama Beds of the Elrhaz Formation. The holotype consists of a partial skeleton lacking the skull, but does have three neck ribs, ten dorsal ribs, parts of fourteen dorsal (back) vertebrae, gastralia (or "belly ribs"), pieces of three sacral vertebrae, parts of twelve caudal (tail) vertebrae, chevrons , a scapula (shoulder blade), a coracoid, a partial forelimb, most of the pelvis (hip bone), and parts of a hindlimb. The spinal column was greatly articulated, the remainder consisted of disarticulated bones. Parts of the skeleton had been exposed on the desert surface and had erosion damage. Additionally, several specimens have been assigned as paratypes: MNN GDF 501 to 508 include a snout, a quadrate from the back of the skull, three dentaries (tooth-bearing bones of the lower jaw), an axis (second neck vertebra), a rear cervical vertebra, and a rear dorsal vertebra. MNN GDF 510 to MNN GDF 511 comprise two caudal vertebrae. All original Suchomimus fossils are housed in the palaeontological collection of the Musée National du Niger. The first description of Suchomimus was preliminary. In 2007, the furcula (wishbone)—found during an expedition in 2000—was described in detail.
Digital skeletal reconstructions of Suchomimus showing known bones based on the holotype (red), a partial skeleton (blue), and other referred specimens (yellow)
Suchomimus is potentially a junior synonym of of another spinosaurid from the Elrhaz Formation, Cristatusaurus lapparenti. It was named the same year based on jaw fragments and vertebrae. Skull elements were considered indistinguishable from those of Baryonyx. In 1997 whilst describing S. tenerensis Sereno and colleagues agreed with this assessment and concluded that Cristatusaurus was a dubious name. Later in 2002, the German palaeontologist Hans-Dieter Sues and colleagues concluded that Suchomimus was identical to Cristatusaurus lapparenti, and despite Cristatusaurus having been named somewhat earlier than Suchomimus, proposed them to represent a second species of Baryonyx called Baryonyx tenerensis. In a 2003 analysis, German paleontologist Oliver Rauhut concurred with this.
Description[]
Size comparison of various spinosaurids (Suchomimus in red, second from right) with a human
The length of the type specimen of Suchomimus, a subadult, was initially estimated at 10.3–11 metres (34–36 feet), with an estimated weight of between 2.7–5.2 tonnes (3.0–5.7 short tons; 2.7–5.1 long tons). Gregory S. Paul, however, gave lower estimations of 9.5 m (31 ft) and 2.5 t (2.8 short tons; 2.5 long tons). The holotype of Suchomimus was considerably larger than that of Baryonyx, but the ages of the two individuals are not known.
Skull[]
Suchomimus tenerensis skull reconstruction at the Australian Museum, Sydney.
Unlike most giant theropod dinosaurs, Suchomimus had a very crocodilian-like skull, with a long, low snout and narrow jaws formed by a forward expansion of the premaxillae (frontmost snout bones) and the hind branch of the maxillae (main upper jaw bone). The premaxillae had an upward branch excluding the maxillae from the external nares (bony nostrils). The jaws had about 122 conical teeth, pointed but not very sharp and curving slightly backwards, with fine serrations and wrinkled enamel. The tip of the snout was enlarged sideways and carried a "terminal rosette" of longer teeth, seven per side in the premaxillae and about the same number in the corresponding part of the lower jaw. Further back, there were at least 22 teeth per upper jaw side in the maxilla, while the entire lower jaw side carried 32 teeth in the dentary bone.
Closeup of front of the snout and dentition
The upper jaw had a prominent kink just behind the rosette, protruding downwards; this convexly curved part of the maxilla had the longest teeth of the entire skull. The internal bone shelves of the maxillae met each other in the midline of the skull over a long distance, forming a closed secondary palate that stiffened the snout, and setting off the internal nostrils and palatal complex (including the pterygoid, palatine and ectopterygoid) towards the back of the skull. The nostrils, unlike in most theropods, were retracted further back on the skull and behind the premaxillary teeth. The external nares were long, narrow and horizontally positioned; the same was true of the larger antorbital fenestrae, a pair of bony openings in front of the eyes. The rear of the skull is poorly known but for a short quadrate bone, which had broad condyles (round protrusions) away from the centre of attachment and—like in the spinosaurid Baryonyx—had a large foramen (opening) separating it from the quadratojugal bone. The lower jaws were greatly elongated and narrow, forming a rigid structure as their dentaries touched each other at the midline, reinforcing the mandible against torsional (bending and twisting) forces.
Postcranial skeleton[]
Suchomimus Life restoration
The neck was relatively short but well-muscled as shown by strong epipophyses (processes to which neck muscles attached). There were about sixteen dorsal vertebrae. Suchomimus had significantly extended neural spines—blade-shaped upward extensions on the vertebrae—which were elongated at the rear back. Those of the five sacral vertebrae were the longest. The elongation of these structures continued until the middle of the tail. The spines may have held up some kind of low crest or sail of skin that was highest over its hips, lower and extending further to the back than that of Spinosaurus, in which the sail reached its highest peak over the dorsal vertebrae. This condition was more reduced in Baryonyx.
Reconstructed forelimb and hand of Suchomimus, Museum of Ancient Life, Utah
The furcula was V-shaped and indicates a high and narrow trunk. The scapula had a rectangular acromion, or attachment site for clavicle (collarbone). The humerus (upper arm bone) was very strongly built, only equaled in size among non-spinosaurid theropods by that of Megalosaurus and Torvosaurus, with robust upper corners. The humerus had a boss (bone overgrowth) above the condyle that contacted its hook-shaped radius (forearm bone). Accordingly, the ulna of the lower arm was well-developed with an enormous olecranon (upper process set-off from the shaft), an exceptional trait shared with Baryonyx. The heavy arm musculature powered sizable hand claws, that of the first digit (or "thumb") being the largest with a length of 19 centimetres (7.5 inches). Only the third metacarpal (long bone of the hand) is known; showing a robust morphology (form). In the pelvis, the ilium (main hip bone) was high. The pubis (pubic bone) had a front surface that was wider than the side surface, and its forward-facing lower end was flattened and rectangular, with a brief flange along the midline, in contrast to the expanded boot shape it had in other theropods. The ischium (lower and rearmost hip bone) bore a low obturator flange. The femur (thighbone) was straight and robust, with a length of 107 cm (42 in) in the holotype. Its lesser trochanter is markedly plate-like. In the ankle, the astralagus had an ascending process taller than that of Allosaurus.
Classification[]
Skeletal diagram combining several specimens (above), compared with the closely related genus Baryonyx
The describers established some autapomorphies (unique derived traits) of Suchomimus to separate it from other theropods, including the expanded rear dorsal, sacral, and front caudal neural spines, the robust upper corners of the humerus, and the boss above the humerus' condyle that contacted its hook-shaped radius. Sereno and colleagues referred Suchomimus to the Spinosauridae and named two subfamilies within this clade, Baryonychinae (all spinosaurids more closely related to Baryonyx) and Spinosaurinae (all spinosaurids closer to Spinosaurus). Suchomimus was a member of the subfamily Baryonychinae. Apart from its apparently taller sail, Suchomimus was very similar to the spinosaurid Baryonyx from the Barremian of England, and shared traits with it such as the reduced size and increased amount of teeth behind the snout tip in the mandible than spinosaurines, strong forelimbs, a huge sickle-curved claw on its "thumb", and strongly keeled front dorsal vertebrae. Spinosaurines are characterized by straight, unserrated and more widely spaced teeth, and the small size of their first premaxillary teeth. Sereno and colleagues pointed out that the more retracted nostrils in Irritator and the tall sail of Spinosaurus could also be unique traits of spinosaurines, though material from other taxa is needed to know for sure. As with Suchomimus, the claw of Baryonyx had been the first discovered fossil of the animal. Sereno and colleagues in 1998 analyzed the distribution of forty-five traits to produce a cladogram that showed Suchomimus and Baryonyx to be distinct but closely related. Later, Bark and colleagues, in 2021, created a new tribe within Baryonychinae: Ceratosuchopsini, a clade that includes Ceratosuchops, Riparovenator and Suchomimus.
The following phylogenetic tree shows a 2009 analysis of the Megalosauroidea.
| Megalosauroidea |
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Evolution[]
Distribution of spinosaurids in Europe and North Africa during the Cretaceous; 9 is Suchomimus
Spinosaurids appear to have been widespread from the Barremian to the Cenomanian stages of the Cretaceous period, about 130 to 95 million years ago, while the oldest known spinosaurid remains date to the Middle Jurassic. They shared features such as long, narrow, crocodile-like skulls; sub-circular teeth, with fine to no serrations; the terminal rosette of the snout; and a secondary palate that made them more resistant to torsion. In contrast, the primitive and typical condition for theropods was a tall, narrow snout with blade-like (ziphodont) teeth with serrated carinae. The skull adaptations of spinosaurids converged with those of Crocodilians; early members of the latter group had skulls similar to typical theropods, later developing elongated snouts, conical teeth, and secondary palates. These adaptations may have been the result of a dietary change from terrestrial prey to fish. Unlike crocodiles, the post-cranial skeletons of baryonychine spinosaurids do not appear to have aquatic adaptations. Sereno and colleagues proposed in 1998 that the large thumb-claw and robust forelimbs of spinosaurids evolved in the Middle Jurassic, before the elongation of the skull and other adaptations related to fish-eating, since the former features are shared with their megalosaurid relatives. They also suggested that the spinosaurines and baryonychines diverged before the Barremian age of the Early Cretaceous.
Pair of Suchomimus fishing in shallow water
Several hypotheses have been proposed about the biogeography of the spinosaurids. Since Suchomimus was more closely related to Baryonyx (from Europe) than to Spinosaurus—although that genus also lived in Africa—the distribution of spinosaurids cannot be explained as vicariance resulting from continental rifting. Sereno and colleagues proposed that spinosaurids were initially distributed across the supercontinent Pangea, but split with the opening of the Tethys Sea. Spinosaurines would then have evolved in the south (Africa and South America: in Gondwana) and baryonychines in the north (Europe: in Laurasia), with Suchomimus the result of a single north-to-south dispersal event. Buffetaut and the Tunisian palaeontologist Mohamed Ouaja also suggested in 2002 that baryonychines could be the ancestors of spinosaurines, which appear to have replaced the former in Africa. Milner suggested in 2003 that spinosaurids originated in Laurasia during the Jurassic, and dispersed via the Iberian land bridge into Gondwana, where they radiated. In 2007, Buffetaut pointed out that palaeogeographical studies had demonstrated that Iberia was near northern Africa during the Early Cretaceous, which he found to confirm Milner's idea that the Iberian region was a stepping stone between Europe and Africa, which is supported by the presence of baryonychines in Iberia. The direction of the dispersal between Europe and Africa is still unknown, and subsequent discoveries of spinosaurid remains in Asia and possibly Australia indicate that it may have been complex. The findings of Barker et al. (2021) are consistent with Milner's findings, where Spinosauridae arose in Europe and there were at least two migrations to Africa.
Paleobiology[]
Mounted skeletal reconstruction at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science
Suchomimus is a member of the Spinosauridae; likely belonged to the basal subgroup dubbed as Baryonchinae; there is direct evidence for this subgroups dietary practices from the representative theropod Baryonyx, whose holotype contains remains of prehistoric fish and subadult Iguanodon.[1][2] Spinosaurids likely had a noticeable bite force. Suchomimus may have been comparable to alligators, demonstrating suggested capability for terrestrial prey capture[3][4]. Ibrahim et al. (2022) find that Suchomimus secondarily lost semiaquatic behaviour based on bone histology, a feature that is hypothesized to be ancestral for spinosaurids and even occurs within the earliest baryonychines. This is strange because it's sister taxon, Baryonyx, was likely a diver[5][6][7][8]. Another study conducted by Myhrvold and Sereno et al. analyzes the faulty sample by Nizar et al. and explains why bone compactness and the pFDA for determining lifestyle for an entire clade may be prone to error[9]. Published in 2023[10][11]; spinosaurid subfamilies, especially representatives of Baryonychinae, suggests that the brain structure and endocast shows no marked differences from any other common theropod; this may suggest similar behavior, especially between it and megalosaurids.[12][13][14]
Paleoecology[]
Restoration of Suchomimus and the sauropods Nigersaurus in the environment of the Elrhaz Formation
Suchomimus lived in Niger during the Early Cretaceous. Suchomimus likely stalked river and lake sides for passing animals; such as massive fish, crocodylimorphs and plesiosaurs. Since the skull resembles that of a crocodile so much, it is possible that Suchomimus may have also swam in bodies of water frequently; albeit this spinosaurid bare no adaptations for water locomotion.
Suchomimus lived in what is now Niger, during the Early Cretaceous, 112 million years ago. The formation have been interpreted as an inland habitat of extensive freshwater floodplains and fast-moving rivers, with a tropical climate that likely experienced seasonal dry periods, similar to modern Delta's. This habitat has consisted a wide variety of species; such dinosaurs, pterosaurs, turtles, fish, sharks, and freshwater bivalves. Crocodylomorph species were abundant; large species existed; such as Sarcosuchus imperator, as well as small crocodylimorphs like Anatosuchus and Araripesuchus, as well as Stolokrosuchus lapparenti.
Suchomimus coexisted and likely compete with other large theropods like the abelisaurid Kryptops palaios, the carcharodontosaurid Eocarcharia dinops, and an unknown noasaurid. [15][16]
Herbivorous dinosaurs of the region included iguanodontians like Ouranosaurus, Elrhazosaurus, Lurdusaurus, and two sauropods: Nigersaurus taqueti, and an unnamed titanosaur. The local flora probably consisted mainly of ferns, horsetails, and angiosperms. [17][18]
JPInstitute.com Description[]
Suchomimus was very similar to Spinosaurus, but it didn't have the tall sail on its back. Along with its cousin, Suchomimus ate mostly fish, which it caught with its long, thin snout full of sharp, cone-shaped teeth. It was discovered in 1998 and has given scientists a much clearer picture of what this fish-eating family of dinosaurs, which also includes Baryonyx, was like.
The discovery of Suchomimus has helped both scientists and the general public understand the rich diversity of life that lived in Africa millions of years ago. It has also provided scientist with valuable clues about the migration of the spinosaurs from Europe into Africa. Although it did not have nearly as prominent a sail as Spinosaurus, Suchomimus did have sacral vertebrae that supported a two-foot (.7 m) sail on its back. Some scientists are questioning whether this dinosaur is a unique genus or if it might be a species of Baryonyx.
Dinosaur Field Guide Description[]
Suchomimus ("crocodile mimic") is spinosaur dinosaur, related to Baryonyx and Spinosaurus. Like them, it had a long, narrow snout packed with crocodile-like teeth and a huge thumb claw. Although it was larger than Baryonyx, it was smaller than the gigantic Spinosaurus. Suchomimus was given the name "crocodile mimic" because, like a crocodile, its skull was long and slender and its teeth were shaped like cones (unlike many of the meat-eaters, which had blade-like teeth). Some paleontologists think that this means they ate mostly fish. It is true that Suchomimus lived near water, and that the remains of 10-foot (3-m) fish were found with it in the same rocks. This suggests that Suchomimus waded into the water and grabbed fish with its jaws, or hooked them with its thumb claw. Today's big crocodilians eat both large fish and land animals. Suchomimus, too, could have hunted the big land animals of its day-other dinosaurs. Its jaws could kill a dinosaur as easily as they could a fish.
Fun Facts[]
Another dinosaur from the same rock formation as Suchomimus is the sailbacked Ouranosaurus, a relative of Iguanodon.
Trivia[]
The thumb claw was one of the first bones found for both Baryonyx and Suchomimus.
Gallery[]
Appearance in other media[]
Jurassic Park[]
- It was also mentioned in Jurassic Park III when Billy tried to identify the Spinosaurus, which was the primary antagonist of the movie.
- Suchomimus appeared on the website for Jurassic World, but unfortunately didn't appear in the actual movie.
- While not in the trailers so far, it has been revealed that there are surviving Suchomimus populations on Isla Nublar, but they and many other dinosaurs will now face an impending danger in the form of an erupting volcano in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. It is possible that some Suchomimus was saved offscreen. Since some teeth can be shown in Ken Whealty's tooth bag meaning the species survived.
- Suchomimus is in Jurassic World: Alive. It seems to be based on the Jurassic World website design.
- Suchomimus is one of five dinosaurs that are available in deluxe edition of Jurassic World: Evolution It seems to be based on the Jurassic World website design.
- It also appears in Jurassic World: The Game as a legendary carnivore. Since January 11th, 2016, a fully maxed Suchomimus can be hybrid-ed with a fully maxed Dsungaripterus to make the hybrid Suchoripterus.
- It also appears in Jurassic Park: Builder as a DNA tournament dinosaur.
- It also appears in it's 1st PlayStation Game Warpath: Jurassic Park.
- Suchomimus makes an appearance show Jurassic World: Chaos Theory.
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Read more Suchomimus on Jurassic Park Wiki |
Links[]
References[]
- ↑ https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/how-did-baryonyx-change-what-we-knew-about-spinosaurs.html
- ↑ https://books.google.com.tr/books?id=HGV7AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA18&lpg=PA18&dq=baryonyx+iguanodon&source=bl&ots=Wu1MT_qThb&sig=ACfU3U2_m-yVyncA5-etjgTGvwBFzvLcGQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiL8I682KzpAhWYQkEAHRbZDs4Q6AEwGXoECAUQAQ#v=onepage&q=baryonyx%20iguanodon&f=false
- ↑ https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0065295
- ↑
- ↑ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04528-0
- ↑ https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/spinosaurus-had-penguin-like-bones-a-sign-of-hunting-underwater
- ↑ https://phys.org/news/2022-03-dense-bones-spinosaurus-underwater.html
- ↑ https://www.sciencenews.org/article/spinosaurus-bones-dinosaur-swim-paleontology
- ↑ https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.05.04.539484v1.full.pdf
- ↑ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36781174/
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4qw545E6C0
- ↑ https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.13837
- ↑ https://blog.everythingdinosaur.com/blog/_archives/2023/02/14/spinosaurs-modified-skulls-but-conservative-brains.html
- ↑ https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/979404
- ↑ https://www.app.pan.pl/article/item/app53-015.html
- ↑ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232682629_Basal_Abelisaurid_and_Carcharodontosaurid_Theropods_from_the_Lower_Cretaceous_Elrhaz_Formation_of_Niger
- ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2077925/
- ↑ https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2001Sci...294.1516S/abstract
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