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EXHIBIT 16

Suchomimus

Suchomimus

Suchomimus combined a crocodile-like snout with enormous curved thumb claws.

Evidence profile

TWO WAYS TO PICTURE THE PAST

Compare the evidence with the familiar movie image. The illustrations are not to a shared scale.

01 / SCIENTIFIC RECONSTRUCTION

An animal, reconstructed

Suchomimus tenerensis life reconstruction by Connor Ashbridge. Long narrow snout, rounded fluted teeth, powerful forelimbs, large thumb claws and low raised hip spines.

The artist identifies this reconstruction as Suchomimus tenerensis. This view illustrates one form within the genus, rather than every species or individual. Fossil-informed anatomy: Long narrow snout, rounded fluted teeth, powerful forelimbs, large thumb claws and low raised hip spines. Coloration and some soft tissues are interpretive; species reconstruction represents the genus. [1] [2] [3]

Life reconstruction of Suchomimus tenerensis.png — Connor Ashbridge. CC BY-SA 4.0. Remote source artwork displayed without additional cropping; Wikimedia supplies any display-size derivative.

Scientific picture served by Wikimedia · internet connection required.

02 / MOVIE-STYLE INTERPRETATION

A cinematic imagination

Original cinematic Suchomimus picture: Cinematic Suchomimus with a long crocodile-like head, strong grasping arms and enlarged thumb claws; a modest raised ridge crosses its hips.

Cinematic Suchomimus with a long crocodile-like head, strong grasping arms and enlarged thumb claws; a modest raised ridge crosses its hips. Dramatic lighting, surface detail and scenery are artistic choices. This is an original cinema-inspired picture, rather than a frame from a film or a documented fossil locality.

Original artwork · artistic interpretation.

Scientific view: credited paleoart interpreting fossil evidence, served online by Wikimedia. Movie-style view: Original artistic interpretation. Colors, soft tissues and settings involve reconstruction.

PERIODEarly Cretaceous[1]
DIETCarnivoreInferred from related anatomy [1]
TOTAL LENGTHNot established hereComparable estimate unavailable
FOSSILS FOUNDNiger[1]
CompareRead the dossierView the sources

MEET THE ANIMAL

Meet Suchomimus

Suchomimus tenerensis was an Early Cretaceous spinosaur from Niger in Africa. Its fossils include a partial skull and skeleton from rocks now exposed in the Tenere Desert. The long, low, narrow snout carries nearly cone-shaped teeth. These features gave researchers a different picture of a predatory dinosaur's head from the deeper skulls familiar in many other large meat eaters. [S1]

The rest of the body adds its own distinctive features. A strong forearm and enlarged thumb claw accompanied elongated spines along the back, forming a low sail deepest over the hips. The original study associated its jaws and teeth with fish feeding. That interpretation describes anatomical capability; it does not establish that every meal was a fish or preserve the precise action of the hands during feeding. [S1]

The discovery also helped researchers compare African and European spinosaurs. Suchomimus shares features with Baryonyx, even though their fossils were found on different continents. The original study used this relationship to propose dispersal between landmasses during the Early Cretaceous. This is an explanation of evolutionary history, not a trackway showing an individual's journey. Its skull and skeleton are more securely known than courtship, nesting and group behavior in the reviewed evidence. [S1]

Overview sources
  1. A Long-Snouted Predatory Dinosaur from Africa and the Evolution of SpinosauridsScience; University of Washington author repository · Accessed 2026-10-04Inspected: excerpt

PREHISTORIC ANIMAL DOSSIER

A life in profile.

The animal, the evidence, and the questions still open.

Suchomimus was a Niger spinosaur with a narrow snout, rounded teeth and large grasping forelimbs. Its original research team's account links these features to fish feeding in an ancient river landscape.

Profile scope: Genus — Suchomimus; evidence concerns S. tenerensis

Time
Early Cretaceous
Fossil locations in this exhibit
Niger
How to read the evidence

Source supported identifies a description documented by the cited source. Inferred marks a reconstruction or functional estimate. Debated marks competing interpretations. Not established means the sources reviewed for this dossier do not support a firm conclusion; it does not mean a behavior never occurred.

A size reference is an estimate, not a population range. Nesting evidence does not by itself establish courtship, mate choice, or lifelong pairing.

Body length

Inferred

About 11 m (museum reference)

The museum and discovery account give approximately 11 m. This is a reconstructed reference, not a verified adult population range. [D1] [D2]

Body mass

Not established

Not established here

A mass estimate with a reviewed reconstruction method is not established in the inspected sources.

Diet and feeding

Inferred

Fish eating proposed

Its long narrow snout and rounded, fluted teeth support a fish-feeding interpretation. They do not prove an exclusively fish diet. [D2]

Habitat and setting

Inferred

Early Cretaceous Niger river landscapes

The discovery team reconstructs broad streams and vegetation from the fossil setting. Burial environment does not prove an exclusive habitat preference. [D2] [D1]

Movement

Inferred

Probably two-legged terrestrial movement

Its theropod limb reconstruction supports bipedal movement. Detailed swimming or diving performance is not established by these inspected accounts. [D2]

Distinctive anatomy

Source supported

Long snout, strong forelimbs, large thumb claws

The discovery account describes powerful grasping hands and elongated neural spines over the hips. Their precise behavioural roles remain interpretations. [D2]

Reproduction & life together

Reproduction and nesting

Not established

Not established here

Reviewed sources do not establish Suchomimus eggs, clutch size or parental care.

Mating and courtship

Not established

Not established here

Reviewed sources do not establish Suchomimus mating displays; general suggestions about spinosaur sails do not establish a courtship ritual.

Social behaviour

Not established

Not established here

Reviewed sources do not establish Suchomimus group structure or coordinated hunting.

Dossier research & sources

Sources and inspection notes for the claims in this profile.

  1. SuchomimusNatural History Museum, London · Accessed 2026-10-02Genus approximate length, Early Cretaceous Niger occurrence and carnivory · Inspected: page
  2. Expedition unearths dinosaur fossilUniversity of Chicago Chronicle (1998) · Accessed 2026-10-02Discovery team's account of S. tenerensis anatomy and depositional environment · Inspected: page

THE STORY IN THE FOSSILS

Meet Suchomimus.

An exposed thumb claw led David Varricchio to the Suchomimus remains during a 1997 Niger expedition. Its elongated skull inspired the name, meaning crocodile mimic. The forelimbs were strongly developed, while nearly round, fluted teeth differed from the slicing blades of many theropods. [2]

Raised vertebral spines formed a low profile over the hips, rather than the towering outline familiar in Spinosaurus. A 2022 bone-density study inferred non-diving habits for Suchomimus. That ecological interpretation is a model-based inference and does not directly record its daily hunting behavior. [2] [3]

A note on scale and time

We have not established a comparable adult total-length estimate for this taxon in this draft. Specimen measurements in the text describe those individuals. The cited dates are approximately 121–112 million years ago. Published genus-level educational dating; not a specimen age. Unknown does not mean zero.

Sources & editorial notes

Sources and evidence notes for this exhibit.

  1. Suchomimus — Dino DirectoryNatural History Museum, London · Accessed 2026-10-02Dino facts and taxonomy, lines 67–94. Genus date and unscoped length; little anatomical prose.
  2. Expedition unearths dinosaur fossilUniversity of Chicago · Accessed 2026-10-021998 expedition announcement, lines 9–22; discovery claw, long skull, fluted teeth, forelimbs and raised hip spines. Legacy date and superlatives not adopted.
  3. Spinosaurus and Baryonyx may have hunted fish underwaterNatural History Museum, London · Accessed 2026-10-022022 museum report sections on spinosaur bone density and limitations, lines 67–121. Behavioral classification inferred from density; does not settle swimming debate.

FOLLOW YOUR CURIOSITY

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