Suchomimus tenerensis - African Dinosaurs
Homepage > African Dinosaurs - Suchomimus tenerensis
(sue-koh-my-muss)
"Crocodile mimic"
Describer Sereno, 1998
Also Known As --
Type of Species tenerensis
Order Saurischia
SubOrder Theropoda
InfraOrder --
Micro-Order --
Family Spinosauridae
SubFamily Baryonychinae
Size 36 feet ( 11 meters) long
Period Early Cretaceous, 121 million years ago
Fossilsite Niger
Diet Carnivore
Suchomimus lived during the Early Cretaceous Period, about 121 million years ago in what is now Niger, North Africa. Suchomimus was closely related to Spinosaurus. Suchomimus also had a skin sail on its back, it was not as high as Spinosaurus'. It is believed by paleontologists that Suchomimus was also a fish eater. It had a 4 feet long snout, which contained about 100 sharp pointy teeth. The teeth were angled slightly backward, which would have made it difficult for fish to slip out of its mouth. Suchomimus had short arms and it had 3 fingers on each hand. Suchomimus' fore arms were powerful, and on one finger of each hand grew a sickle like claw that was a foot in length. The combination of this claw and its crocodile like snout made this dinosaur ideal for fishing. Scientist speculate that Suchomimus may also have been able to swim.