Suchosaurus Temporal range: Early Cretaceous |
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Holotype tooth of S. cultridens | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Sauropsida |
Superorder: | Dinosauria |
Order: | Saurischia |
Suborder: | Theropoda |
Family: | Spinosauridae |
Genus: |
Suchosaurus Owen, 1841 |
Species | |
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Synonyms | |
Suchosaurus (meaning "crocodile lizard") is as a spinosaurid theropod dinosaur from Cretaceous England, originally believed to be a genus of crocodile. The type material consists of teeth. Two species, S. cultridens and S. girardi have been named.
About 1820, Gideon Mantell acquired some spinosaurid teeth discovered near Cuckfield in the Wadhurst Clay of East Sussex, part of a lot with the present inventory number BMNH R36536. In 1822, he reported these, after an identification by William Clift, as belonging to crocodiles. In 1824, the teeth were mentioned and illustrated by Georges Cuvier, representing the first illustration of a spinosaurid fossil. In 1827 Mantell described additional teeth, pointing out the similarities to the crocodylian Teleosaurus and Gavialis. One of these teeth is the present specimen BMNH R4415, others are part of BMNH R36536.
In 1841, Richard Owen named, based on BMNH R36536 as a syntype series, a subgenus Crocodylus (Suchosaurus) with as type species Crocodylus (Suchosaurus) cultridens. The subgeneric name was derived from Greek σοῦχος, souchos, the name of the Egyptian crocodile god Sobek. This reflected the presumed taxonomic affinities; at the time Owen was not aware of the crocodile-like snouts of spinosaurids. The specific name is derived from Latin culter, "dagger", and dens, "tooth", in reference to the elongated form of the teeth. In 1842, Owen again mentioned the taxon as a subgenus, subsequently he and other workers would use it as a full genus Suchosaurus. In 1842 and 1878 Owen referred some vertebrae to Suchosaurus, but these likely belong to Ornithischia instead. In 1884, Owen indicated a tooth as "Suchosaurus leavidens" in a caption, this is usually seen as a lapsus calami because this species is not further mentioned.