''Suchosaurus'' (meaning "crocodile lizard") is a

spinosaurid The Spinosauridae (or spinosaurids) are a clade or family of tetanuran theropod dinosaurs comprising ten to seventeen known genera. They came into prominence during the Cretaceous period. Spinosaurid fossils have been recovered worldwide, includi ...

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

from

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...

England and Portugal, originally believed to be a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to inclu ...

. The

type material In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes t ...

, consisting of teeth, was used by British

palaeontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

Richard Owen Sir Richard Owen (20 July 1804 – 18 December 1892) was an English biologist, comparative anatomist and paleontologist. Owen is generally considered to have been an outstanding naturalist with a remarkable gift for interpreting fossils. Owe ...

to name the

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

''S. cultridens'' in 1841. Later in 1897, French palaeontologist Henri-Émile Sauvage named a second species, ''S. girardi'', based on two fragments from the

mandible In anatomy, the mandible, lower jaw or jawbone is the largest, strongest and lowest bone in the human facial skeleton. It forms the lower jaw and holds the lower tooth, teeth in place. The mandible sits beneath the maxilla. It is the only movabl ...

and one tooth discovered in Portugal. ''Suchosaurus'' is possibly a

senior synonym The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnae ...

of the contemporary spinosaurid ''

Baryonyx ''Baryonyx'' () is a genus of theropod dinosaur which lived in the Barremian stage of the Early Cretaceous period, about 130–125 million years ago. The first skeleton was discovered in 1983 in the Smokejack Clay Pit, of Surrey, England, in se ...

'', but is usually considered a dubious name due to the paucity of its remains, and is considered an indeterminate

baryonychine Baryonychinae is an extinct clade or subfamily of spinosaurids from the Early Cretaceous (Valanginian-Albian) of Britain, Portugal, and Niger. In 2021, it consisted of six genera: '' Ceratosuchops'', ''Cristatusaurus'', '' Riparovenator'', '' ...

. In the Wadhurst Clay Formation of what is now southern England, ''Suchosaurus'' lived alongside other dinosaurs, as well as

plesiosaurs The Plesiosauria (; Greek: πλησίος, ''plesios'', meaning "near to" and ''sauros'', meaning "lizard") or plesiosaurs are an order or clade of extinct Mesozoic marine reptiles, belonging to the Sauropterygia. Plesiosaurs first appeared ...

mammals Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

, and

crocodyliforms Crocodyliformes is a clade of crurotarsan archosaurs, the group often traditionally referred to as "crocodilians". They are the first members of Crocodylomorpha to possess many of the features that define later relatives. They are the only pseudo ...

History of discovery

In about 1820, British

Gideon Mantell Gideon Algernon Mantell MRCS FRS (3 February 1790 – 10 November 1852) was a British obstetrician, geologist and palaeontologist. His attempts to reconstruct the structure and life of ''Iguanodon'' began the scientific study of dinosaurs: in ...

acquired teeth discovered near

Cuckfield Cuckfield ( ) is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Mid Sussex District, Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England, on the southern slopes of the Weald. It lies south of London, north of Brighton, and east northeas ...

in the

Wadhurst Clay The Wadhurst Clay Formation is a geological unit which forms part of the Wealden Group and the middle part of the now unofficial Hastings Beds. These geological units make up the core of the geology of the High Weald in the English counties of West ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

, part of a lot with the present inventory number BMNH R36536. In 1822, he reported these, after an identification by

William Clift William Clift FRS (14 February 1775 – 20 June 1849) was a British illustrator and conservator. Early life Clift was born in Burcombe near Bodmin in Cornwall. He was the youngest of seven children and grew up in poverty following his fat ...

, as belonging to crocodiles. In 1824, the teeth were mentioned and illustrated by

Georges Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (; 23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier, was a French natural history, naturalist and zoology, zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier ...

, representing the first

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

illustration of a

(though this group wouldn't be recognized for nearly another century). In 1827 Mantell described additional teeth, pointing out the similarities to the

crocodilians Crocodilia (or Crocodylia, both ) is an order of mostly large, predatory, semiaquatic reptiles, known as crocodilians. They first appeared 95 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous period (Cenomanian stage) and are the closest living re ...

Teleosaurus ''Teleosaurus'' (from el, τέλειος , 'perfect' and el, σαῦρος , 'lizard') is an extinct genus of teleosaurid crocodyliform found in the Middle Jurassic Calcaire de Caen Formation of France. It was approximately in length and w ...

'' and ''

Gavialis ''Gavialis'' is a genus of crocodylians that includes the living gharial ''Gavialis gangeticus'' and one known extinct species, '' Gavialis bengawanicus.'' ''G. gangeticus'' comes from the Indian Subcontinent, while ''G. bengawanicus'' is known ...

''. One of these teeth is the present specimen BMNH R4415, others are part of BMNH R36536. Suchosaurus girardi

In 1841, British palaeontologist

named, based on BMNH R36536 as a

syntype In biological nomenclature, a syntype is any one of two or more biological types that is listed in a description of a taxon where no holotype was designated. Precise definitions of this and related terms for types have been established as part of ...

series, a

subgenus In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...

Crocodylus ''Crocodylus'' is a genus of true crocodiles in the family Crocodylidae. Taxonomy The generic name, ''Crocodylus'', was proposed by Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti in 1768. ''Crocodylus'' contains 13–14 extant (living) species and 5 extinct species ...

(Suchosaurus)'' with as

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

''Crocodylus (Suchosaurus) cultridens''.Owen, R. (1840–1845). ''Odontography''. London: Hippolyte Baillière, 655 pp, 1–32 The subgeneric name was derived from Greek σοῦχος, ''souchos'', the name of the Egyptian crocodile god

Sobek Sobek (also called Sebek or Sobki, cop, Ⲥⲟⲩⲕ, Souk) was an ancient Egyptian deity with a complex and elastic history and nature. He is associated with the Nile crocodile or the West African crocodile and is represented either in its f ...

. This reflected the presumed taxonomic affinities; at the time the crocodile-like snouts of spinosaurids were not known. The specific name is derived from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''culter'', "dagger", and ''dens'', "tooth", in reference to the elongated form of the teeth. In 1842, Owen again mentioned the

taxon In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

as a subgenus, subsequently he and other workers would use it as a full

''Suchosaurus''. In 1842 and 1878 Owen referred some

vertebrae The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates,Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristic i ...

(backbones) to ''Suchosaurus'', but these were later identified by

Richard Lydekker Richard Lydekker (; 25 July 1849 – 16 April 1915) was an English naturalist, geologist and writer of numerous books on natural history. Biography Richard Lydekker was born at Tavistock Square in London. His father was Gerard Wolfe Lydekker, ...

as likely belonging to

ornithischian Ornithischia () is an extinct order of mainly herbivorous dinosaurs characterized by a pelvic structure superficially similar to that of birds. The name ''Ornithischia'', or "bird-hipped", reflects this similarity and is derived from the Greek st ...

dinosaurs instead. In 1884, Owen indicated a tooth as "''Suchosaurus leavidens''" in a caption, this is usually seen as a ''

lapsus calami In philology, a lapsus (Latin for "lapse, slip, error") is an involuntary mistake made while writing or speaking. Investigations In 1895 an investigation into verbal slips was undertaken by a philologist and a psychologist, Rudolf Meringer and K ...

'' (or "slip of the pen") because this species is not further mentioned. In 1897, French palaeontologist Henri-Émile Sauvage named a second species: ''Suchosaurus girardi'', based on two jaw fragments (specimen MG324) and a tooth, found in the

Papo Seco Formation The Papo Seco Formation is a geological formation in Portugal, whose strata date back to the Early Cretaceous. Dinosaur fossils are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.Weishampel et al., 2004, p.562

of Portugal by Swiss-Portuguese

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

Paul Choffat Léon Paul Choffat (14 May 1849 – 6 June 1919) was a Swiss-born geologist, noted as a stratigrapher and paleontologist, who distinguished himself as a study of the pioneer of paleontology of the Jurassic and physical geography of Portugal. Havin ...

. The specific name honours French geologist Albert Girard.Sauvage, H. E. (1897–1898). ''Vertébrés fossiles du Portugal. Contribution à l’étude des poissons et des reptiles du Jurassique et du Crétacique.'' Lisbonne: Direction des Travaux géologiques du Portugal, 46p The tooth was considered lost but was rediscovered and in 2013 reported as specimen MNHN/UL.I.F2.176.1, part of remains recovered after a fire in 1978. During the nineteenth and most of the twentieth century, ''Suchosaurus'' was usually considered to have been some obscure crocodilian, perhaps belonging to the

Pholidosauridae Pholidosauridae is an extinct family of aquatic neosuchian mesoeucrocodylian crocodylomorphs. Fossils have been found in Europe (Denmark, England, France, Germany, Spain and Sweden), Africa (Algeria, Niger, Mali, Morocco and Tunisia), North Amer ...

. Single comparable teeth discovered in England were referred to the genus.Lydekker, R., 1888, ''Catalogue of the Fossil Reptilia and Amphibia in the British Museum (Natural History), Cromwell Road, S.W., Part 1. Containing the Orders Ornithosauria, Crocodilia, Dinosauria, Squamata, Rhynchocephalia, and Proterosauria''. British Museum of Natural History, London. 309 pp However, when publishing a redescription of ''

'' in 1998, British palaeontologist Angela Milner realised that the teeth of that spinosaurid dinosaur were extremely similar to those of ''Suchosaurus''. In 2003, she suggested both genera represented one and the same animal. An identity would imply the name ''Suchosaurus'' has priority. However, the ''Suchosaurus'' teeth are also indistinguishable from those of ''

Cristatusaurus ''Cristatusaurus'' is a genus of theropod dinosaur that lived during the Early Cretaceous Period of what is now Niger, 112 million years ago. It was a baryonychine member of the Spinosauridae, a group of large bipedal carnivores with well-built ...

'' and ''

Suchomimus ''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. It was named and ...

'', making it an indeterminate

In 2007, French palaeontologist

Eric Buffetaut The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

considered the teeth of ''S. girardi'' very similar to those of ''Baryonyx'' (and ''S. cultridens'') except for the stronger development of the ribs (lengthwise ridges) on the

tooth crown In dentistry, crown refers to the anatomical area of teeth, usually covered by enamel. The crown is usually visible in the mouth after developing below the gingiva The gums or gingiva (plural: ''gingivae'') consist of the mucosal tiss ...

, suggesting that the remains belonged to the same genus. Buffetaut agreed with Milner that the teeth of ''S. cultridens'' were almost identical to those of ''B. walkeri'', but with a ribbier surface. The former taxon might be a

of the latter (since it was published first), depending on whether the differences were within a taxon or between different ones. According to Buffetaut, since the holotype specimen of ''S. cultridens'' is one worn tooth and that of ''B. walkeri'' is a skeleton it would be more practical to retain the newer name.Buffetaut, E. (2007). "The spinosaurid dinosaur ''Baryonyx'' (Saurischia, Theropoda) in the Early Cretaceous of Portugal." ''Geological Magazine'', 144(6): 1021-1025. In 2011, Portuguese palaeontologist

Octávio Mateus Octávio Mateus (born 1975) is a Portuguese dinosaur paleontologist and biologist Professor of Paleontology at the Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa. He graduated in Universidade de Évora and received his PhD at U ...

and colleagues agreed that ''Suchosaurus'' was closely related to ''Baryonyx'', but considered both species in the former genus (''Suchosaurus'') '' nomina dubia'' (dubious names) since their holotype specimens were not considered diagnostic (lacking distinguishing features) and could not be definitely equated with other taxa.

Description

In 2012,

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

vertebrate palaeontologist Thomas R. Holtz Jr. tentatively estimated ''Suchosaurus'' at around in length and weighing between .Holtz, Thomas R. Jr. (2011) ''Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages,'
Winter 2010 Appendix.
/ref> And in 2016, Spanish palaeontologists Molina-Pérez and Larramendi estimated ''S. cultridens'' at approximately long, tall at the hips and weighing . The teeth of ''Suchosaurus girardi'' were curved, oval in cross section, and had tall

roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...

that were one and a half times taller than the crown. Its teeth, like some other spinosaurids, bore flutes (lengthwise grooves), in ''S. girardi'', there were eight flutes on the lingual side (which faced the inside of the mouth), and four less distinct flutes on the

labial The term ''labial'' originates from '' Labium'' (Latin for "lip"), and is the adjective that describes anything of or related to lips, such as lip-like structures. Thus, it may refer to: * the lips ** In linguistics, a labial consonant ** In zoolog ...

side (which faced the outside of the mouth). The

tooth enamel Tooth enamel is one of the four major Tissue (biology), tissues that make up the tooth in humans and many other animals, including some species of fish. It makes up the normally visible part of the tooth, covering the Crown (tooth), crown. The ...

, or outermost layer, had a microscopic wrinkled texture.

Palaeoecology

The Wadhurst Clay Formation, part of the Wealden Group, is dated to the

Valanginian In the geologic timescale, the Valanginian is an age or stage of the Early or Lower Cretaceous. It spans between 139.8 ± 3.0 Ma and 132.9 ± 2.0 Ma (million years ago). The Valanginian Stage succeeds the Berriasian Stage of the Lower Cretaceou ...

stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...

of the

Early Cretaceous The Early Cretaceous ( geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous (chronostratigraphic name), is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 145 Ma to 100.5 Ma. Geology Pro ...

Period Period may refer to: Common uses * Era, a length or span of time * Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...

, about 139.8 to 132.9 million years ago.Hopson, P.M., Wilkinson, I.P. and Woods, M.A. (2010) ''A stratigraphical framework for the Lower Cretaceous of England''. Research Report RR/08/03. British Geological Survey, Keyworth. It consists mainly of

shales Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especiall ...

and

mudstones Mudstone, a type of mudrock, is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Mudstone is distinguished from ''shale'' by its lack of fissility (parallel layering).Blatt, H., and R.J. Tracy, 1996, ''Petrology.'' ...

.Lake, R.D. & Shepard-Thorn, E.R. (1987) ''Geology of the country around Hastings and Dungeness: Memoir for 1:50,000 geological sheets 320 and 321''. British Geological Survey, London. Other dinosaurs that shared this environment with ''Suchosaurus'' included the iguanodontians ''

Barilium ''Barilium'' is a genus of iguanodontian dinosaur which was first described as a species of ''Iguanodon'' (''I. dawsoni'') by Richard Lydekker in 1888, the specific epithet honouring the discoverer Charles Dawson. In 2010 it was reclassified ...

'' and ''

Hypselospinus ''Hypselospinus'' is a genus of iguanodontian dinosaur which was first described as a species of ''Iguanodon'' (''I. fittoni'') by Richard Lydekker in 1889, the specific name honouring William Henry Fitton. History In May 2010 the fossils co ...

'', as well as the dubious species '' Megalosaurus dunkeri'' and an unnamed

maniraptoran Maniraptora is a clade of coelurosaurian dinosaurs which includes the birds and the non-avian dinosaurs that were more closely related to them than to ''Ornithomimus velox''. It contains the major subgroups Avialae, Deinonychosauria, Oviraptoros ...

.Naish, D. and Sweetman, S.C. (2011). "A tiny maniraptoran dinosaur in the Lower Cretaceous Hastings Group: evidence from a new vertebrate-bearing locality in south-east England." ''Cretaceous Research'', 32: 464-471. They coexisted with the

plesiosaur The Plesiosauria (; Greek: πλησίος, ''plesios'', meaning "near to" and ''sauros'', meaning "lizard") or plesiosaurs are an order or clade of extinct Mesozoic marine reptiles, belonging to the Sauropterygia. Plesiosaurs first appeared ...

Hastanectes ''Hastanectes'' is an extinct genus of a plesiosaurian with possible pliosaurid affinities known from the Early Cretaceous Wadhurst Clay Formation (Valanginian stage) of the United Kingdom. It contains a single species, ''Hastanectes valdensis'', ...

'', the

crocodyliform Crocodyliformes is a clade of crurotarsan archosaurs, the group often traditionally referred to as "crocodilians". They are the first members of Crocodylomorpha to possess many of the features that define later relatives. They are the only pseudo ...

Goniopholis ''Goniopholis'' (meaning "angled scale") is an extinct genus of goniopholidid crocodyliform that lived in Europe and Africa during the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous. Being semi-aquatic it is very similar to modern crocodiles. It ranged from ...

'' and the mammals ''

Loxaulax ''Loxaulax'' ("slanting groove" from Ancient Greek λοξός (loxós), “slanting, crosswise” + αὖλαξ (aûlax), "furrow, groove") is a genus of extinct mammal from the Lower Cretaceous of southern England. It was a member of the also e ...

'', '' Aegialodon'', ''

Laolestes ''Laolestes'' is an extinct genus of dryolestid mammal. Fossil remains are known from the Morrison Formation, in stratigraphic zones 5 and 6.,Foster, J. (2007). "Appendix." ''Jurassic West: The Dinosaurs of the Morrison Formation and Their Wor ...

'',Foster, J. (2007). "Appendix." ''Jurassic West: The Dinosaurs of the Morrison Formation and Their World''. Indiana University Press. pp. 327-329. and ''

Spalacotherium ''Spalacotherium'' is a genus of extinct mammal from the Early Cretaceous of Europe. The type species ''Spalacotherium tricuspidens'' was originally named by Richard Owen in 1854, and its material includes maxillary and dentary fragments and ...

''.

References

External links

First post of a long discussion of ''Suchosaurus'' as a dinosaur and its implications
in the Dinosaur Mailing List Archives {{Taxonbar, from=Q3472673 Spinosaurids Barremian life Valanginian life Early Cretaceous dinosaurs of Europe Cretaceous England Fossils of England Cretaceous Portugal Fossils of Portugal Fossil taxa described in 1841 Taxa named by Richard Owen Nomina dubia