Suchomimus tenerensis
(Sereno, Beck, Duthiel, Gado, Larsson, Lyon, Marcot, Rauhut, Sadleir, Sidor, Varricchio, Wilson (1), Wilson (2), 1998.)
Over thirty feet long, Suchomimus tenerensis is a truly awe-inspiring member of the clade Spinosauria, a strange group of fish-eating dinosaurs living in Europe, Africa, and South America ( Keesey ). S. tenerensis is notable for its tooth-bristled, crocodile-like jaws, its powerful manual talons, and the low sail over its back.Similar to Baryonyx, though even more specialized than that European predator, S. tenerensis stalks the African waterways, peering past the surface of the water for a tell-tale flicker of movement. As the fish wriggles closer, attracted by the shadow cast by S. tenerensis 's wedge-shaped body, the spinosaur cocks its head upward, and opens its jaws slightly, exposing rosettes of cylindrical teeth like the outstretched fingers of a hand. With the fish in range, the powerful muscles of S. tenerensis's neck contract violently, snapping the murderous snout downward into the water. The fish, skewered by the tooth rossettes, has no chance of escape, for even if the prey is too heavy to lift with jaws alone, the spinosaur is equipped immense hook-shaped claws on its powerful forelimbs with which it can rend its prey to pieces.
Other sites containing pertinent information:
- T. Mike Keesey's Suchomimus
- Brian Franczak's Suchomimus (second down from the top)
- Prehistoric Planet's Suchomimus article (with many photographs of the skeleton)
- Shiraishi Mineo's Suchomimus paintings (third down from the top)
- DinoData's Suchomimus page
- Paul Sereno's Suchomimus site
- Fun facts about Suchomimus
- National Geographic's Suchomimus site
- Jordan Mallon's Suchomimus
- Steve Brusatte's Suchomimus site
- Suchomimus photographs
- Brett Booth's Suchomimus
- Øyvind M. Padron's Suchomimus
- Suchomimus model
- "Sat"'s Suchomimus
© Daniel Bensen 2001
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