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

spinosaurid Spinosauridae (or spinosaurids) is a clade or Family (taxonomy), family of tetanuran theropod dinosaurs comprising ten to seventeen known genera. Spinosaurid fossils have been recovered worldwide, including Africa, Europe, South America, and Asia. ...

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

from

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

England and Portugal, originally believed to be a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

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 more loosely to include ...

. The

type material In biology, a type is a particular wikt:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to ancho ...

, consisting of teeth, was used by British

palaeontologist Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...

Richard Owen Sir Richard Owen (20 July 1804 – 18 December 1892) was an English biologist, comparative anatomy, comparative anatomist and paleontology, palaeontologist. Owen is generally considered to have been an outstanding naturalist with a remarkabl ...

to name the

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

''S. cultridens'' in

1841 Events January–March * January 20 – Charles Elliot of the United Kingdom and Qishan of the Qing dynasty agree to the Convention of Chuenpi. * January 26 – Britain occupies Hong Kong. Later in the year, the first census of the ...

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

mandible In jawed vertebrates, the mandible (from the Latin ''mandibula'', 'for chewing'), lower jaw, or jawbone is a bone that makes up the lowerand typically more mobilecomponent of the mouth (the upper jaw being known as the maxilla). The jawbone i ...

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

senior synonym In taxonomy, the scientific classification of living organisms, a synonym is an alternative scientific name for the accepted scientific name of a taxon. The botanical and zoological codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. ...

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 ...

'', but is usually considered a

dubious name In binomial nomenclature, a ''nomen dubium'' (Latin for "doubtful name", plural ''nomina dubia'') is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application. Zoology In case of a ''nomen dubium,'' it may be impossible to determine whether a ...

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 of Europe and West Africa. The clade was named by Charig & Milner in 1986 and defined by Sereno et al. in 1998 and Holtz et al. in 2004 as all taxa more close ...

. In the

Wadhurst Clay Formation 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 ...

of what is now southern England, ''Suchosaurus'' lived alongside other dinosaurs, as well as

plesiosaurs The Plesiosauria or plesiosaurs are an Order (biology), order or clade of extinct Mesozoic marine reptiles, belonging to the Sauropterygia. Plesiosaurs first appeared in the latest Triassic Period (geology), Period, possibly in the Rhaetian st ...

mammals A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three middle e ...

, 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 Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons, MRCS Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (3 February 1790 – 10 November 1852) was an English obstetrician, geologist and paleontology, palaeontologist. His attempts to reconstr ...

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 northea ...

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 We ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

, part of a lot with the present inventory number

NHMUK The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum and ...

PV OR 36536. 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". Cuv ...

, 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 preserve ...

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 () is an order of semiaquatic, predatory reptiles that are known as crocodilians. They first appeared during the Late Cretaceous and are the closest living relatives of birds. Crocodilians are a type of crocodylomorph pseudosuchi ...

Teleosaurus ''Teleosaurus'' (from , 'perfect' and , 'lizard') is an extinct genus of teleosaurid crocodyliform found in the Middle Jurassic Calcaire de Caen Formation of France. It was approximately in length. The holotype is MNHN AC 8746, a quarter of ...

'' 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 know ...

''. One of these teeth is the present specimen NHMUK PV R 4415, which was presented to the British Museum (Natural History) in 1912; others are part of NHMUK PV OR 36536. Suchosaurus girardi

, British palaeontologist

named, based on NHMUK PV OR 36536 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 o ...

series, a

subgenus In biology, a subgenus ( 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 the ge ...

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

(Suchosaurus)'' with as

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, 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 spe ...

''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 known as Suchus (), was an ancient Egyptian deities, ancient Egyptian deity with a complex and elastic history and nature. He is associated with the Nile crocodile and is often represented as a crocodile-headed humanoid, if not a ...

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

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

is derived from

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''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''; : 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 name and ...

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

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

vertebrae Each vertebra (: vertebrae) is an irregular bone with a complex structure composed of bone and some hyaline cartilage, that make up the vertebral column or spine, of vertebrates. The proportions of the vertebrae differ according to their spinal ...

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

Richard Lydekker Richard Lydekker (; 25 July 1849 – 16 April 1915) was a British naturalist, geologist and writer of numerous books on natural history. He was known for his contributions to zoology, paleontology, and biogeography. He worked extensively in cata ...

as likely belonging to

ornithischian Ornithischia () is an extinct clade 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 ...

'' (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 of Portugal by Swiss-Portuguese

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...

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

. The

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 Angela Cheryl Milner (3 October 1947 – 13 August 2021) was a British paleontologist who, in 1986 alongside Alan Charig, described the dinosaur ''Baryonyx''. Early life Milner was born Angela Girven in Gosforth, daughter of Cyril and Luci ...

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 Geological period, Period of what is now Niger, 112 million years ago. It was a baryonychine member of the Spinosauridae, a group of large Bipedalism, bipe ...

'' and ''

Suchomimus ''Suchomimus'', from Ancient Greek ''σούχος'' (''soúkhos''), meaning "crocodile", and Latin ''mimus'', meaning "actor", is a genus of spinosaurid dinosaur that lived between 125 and 112 million years ago in what is now Niger, North A ...

'', making it an indeterminate

In 2007, French palaeontologist

Eric Buffetaut The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur 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-Nor ...

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, the crown is the visible part of the tooth above the gingival margin and is an essential component of dental anatomy. Covered by Tooth enamel, enamel, the crown plays a crucial role in cutting, tearing, and grinding food. Its shap ...

, 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 Portugal, Portuguese dinosaur paleontologist and biologist Professor of Paleontology at the Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da NOVA University Lisbon, Universidade Nova de Lisboa. He graduated in University of � ...

and colleagues agreed that ''Suchosaurus'' was closely related to ''Baryonyx'', but considered both species in the former genus (''Suchosaurus'') ''

nomina dubia In binomial nomenclature, a ''nomen dubium'' (Latin for "doubtful name", plural ''nomina dubia'') is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application. Zoology In case of a ''nomen dubium,'' it may be impossible to determine whether a ...

'' (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, p ...

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 focusin ...

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 Lingual may refer to: * Tongue, a muscular hydrostat on the floors of the mouths of most vertebrates which manipulates food for mastication * Lingual, in palaeontology, the side of the teeth that faces the tongue * Lingual artery arises from the e ...

side (which faced the inside of the mouth), and four less distinct flutes on the labial 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 animals, including some species of fish. It makes up the normally visible part of the tooth, covering the Crown (tooth), crown. The other ...

, or outermost layer, had a microscopic wrinkled texture.

Palaeoecology

Life reconstruction of Suchosaurus cultridens

The Wadhurst Clay Formation, part of the

Wealden Group The Wealden Group, occasionally also referred to as the Wealden Supergroup, is a group (stratigraphy), group (a sequence of rock strata) in the lithostratigraphy of southern England. The Wealden group consists of wiktionary:paralic, paralic to c ...

, 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 137.05 ± 0.2 Ma and 132.6 ± 0.2 Ma (million years ago). The Valanginian Stage succeeds the Berriasian Stage of the Lower Cretac ...

stage Stage, stages, or staging may refer to: Arts and media 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 Brit ...

of the

Early Cretaceous The Early Cretaceous (geochronology, geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous (chronostratigraphy, chronostratigraphic name) is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 143.1 ...

Period Period may refer to: Common uses * Period (punctuation) * Era, a length or span of time *Menstruation, commonly referred to as a "period" Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (o ...

, 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, especial ...

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.Blatt, H., and R.J. Tracy, 1996, ''Petrology.'' New York, New York ...

.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, who collected the holotype duri ...

'' 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 (zoology), specific name honouring William Henry Fitton. History and n ...

'', 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, Dromaeosauridae, Troodontidae ...

.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 or plesiosaurs are an Order (biology), order or clade of extinct Mesozoic marine reptiles, belonging to the Sauropterygia. Plesiosaurs first appeared in the latest Triassic Period (geology), Period, possibly in the Rhaetian st ...

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 Crurotarsi, 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 ...

Goniopholis ''Goniopholis'' (meaning "angled scale") is an extinct genus of goniopholidid crocodyliform that lived in Europe and North America during the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous. Like other goniopholidids, it resembled living crocodilians, and pro ...

'' and the mammals '' Loxaulax'', ''

Aegialodon ''Aegialodon dawsoni'' is an extinct mammal from the early Cretaceous, known from fossilised teeth discovered in the Wadhurst Clay Formation (dating to about 136 million years ago) near Cliff End, Hastings, East Sussex Hastings ( ) is a s ...

'', '' Laolestes'',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 many ...

''.

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 Spinosauridae Dinosaur genera Valanginian dinosaurs Taxa named by Richard Owen Fossil taxa described in 1841 Dinosaurs of the United Kingdom Tooth taxa