Suchosaurus
Suchosaurus cultridens
Suchosaurus foi um espinossaurídeo carnívoro do Cretáceo, descrito por Owen. Viveu há aproximadamente 130.0-125.0 milhões de anos, na região do que hoje é Europa. Medindo de 9.5 m, pesando 2.0-3.0 tons, era um representante característico da fauna mesozoica.
Suchosaurus (meaning "crocodile lizard") is a dubious genus of large theropod dinosaur that lived during the Early Cretaceous in what is now Europe. The type species, S. cultridens, was originally described in 1841 by Richard Owen based on a chimeric assemblage of fossil teeth and vertebrae discovered in the Tilgate Forest, of Sussex, England, in sediments of the Wealden Supergroup. The second species, S. girardi, was established in 1897 by Henri Émile Sauvage from a tooth and fragmentary jaw material recovered from the Papo Seco Formation in Portugal. Initially and generally interpreted as a crocodilian for nearly two centuries (as reflected by its generic name), Suchosaurus was not formally reidentified as a spinosaurid until a 2003 publication by Angela Milner, who also considered it as a possible senior synonym of Baryonyx. This proposal was followed by several authors until 2011, when Octávio Mateus and colleagues regarded the genus as dubious due to the non-diagnostic nature of the assigned fossil material. Named only one year before Owen introduced the term Dinosauria in 1842, Suchosaurus is therefore among the first dinosaurs ever described in the history of paleontology and also represents the very first named spinosaurid, although it was not recognized as such at the time of its original descriptions.
Although known from very limited fossil material, Suchosaurus is estimated to have reached a length of between 8.6–10 metres (28–33 ft), with a minimum body mass of around one tonne. Like other spinosaurids, Suchosaurus was probably a large bipedal carnivore with well-built forelimbs and elongated, crocodile-like skulls. The teeth of Suchosaurus, which constitute the main fossils documenting this taxon, were slightly recurved and displayed a conical to subconical cross-section. The crown also beared numerous longitudinal flutes, and most of the teeth appeared to have fine serrations. Although now considered as a dubious spinosaurid, Suchosaurus is generally assigned to the subfamily Baryonychinae due to its dental characteristics, which it shares with other genera such as Baryonyx and Suchomimus. Like other members of this group, its teeth were most likely adapted for a piscivorous diet. Based on the fossil record associated with the taxon, the animal lived and hunted in fluvial environments alongside numerous other dinosaurs, as well as pterosaurs, crocodylomorphs, turtles, plesiosaurs, fishes, various invertebrates, and even early mammals.
- Família
- Spinosauridae
- Ordem
- Saurischia
- Período
- Cretaceous (130.0-125.0 MYA)
- Dieta
- Carnivore
- Comprimento
- 9.5 m
- Peso
- 2.0-3.0 tons
Fatos científicos
- Medindo 9.5 m, tinha porte médio para os padrões mesozoicos
- Dentes cônicos e focinho longo sugerem alimentação piscívora, similar a crocodilos modernos
- Seus fósseis foram encontrados na região de Europa, contribuindo para o entendimento da fauna cretáceo local
- Foi descrito cientificamente por Owen, contribuindo para o entendimento da diversidade dinossauriana