Suchomimus pronunciation.

[Jeff Poling <jpoling@dinosauria.com>]

   Here's the entry of Ben's write up of Suchomimus.  For how to pronounce
the phenetics, see the introduction of the Translation and Pronunciation
Guide in the Omnipedia at http://www.dinosauria.com


>Here's the entry for Suchomimus. The preferred way to pronounce
>this would be like SOO-ko-MY-muss (rhymes with thymus), as
>indicated in the transcription. The "i" is long in Greek so it's best
>to treat as long in English.
>
><I><B>Suchomimus</B></I> Sereno, Beck, Dutheil, Gado, Larsson,
>Lyon, Marcot, Rauhut, Sadleir, Sidor, Varricchio, G.P. Wilson &
>J.A. Wilson 1998 "crocodile mimic"
>SOOK-o-<B>MIEM</B>-us (Gr. <I>s<B>ou</B>khos</I> "crocodile" +
>Gr. <I>m<B>i</B>mos</I> "mimic, imitator") (m) named for a "low elongate
>snout and piscivorous adaptations" that make the skull resemble a
>fish-eating crocodilian such as the gavial; based on a partial
>skull and skeleton (MNN GDF500) found in the Elrhaz Formation
>(Aptian), Tenere Desert region, Niger. <I>Suchomimus</I> is a
>large (est. 11 m (36 ft)) spinosaurid theropod very similar to
><I>Baryonyx</I> but with a snout that is even more "long, low,
>and narrow." The skull is estimated at about 1.2 m (4 ft) in
>length, with a very long secondary palate and a rosette of large
>teeth at the tip of the upper and lower jaws. The teeth are
>slightly recurved and have subconical crowns with finely serrated
>margins and textured enamel (unlike the straight, unserrated
>teeth of <I>Spinosaurus</I> or the smooth enamel of crocodile
>teeth). As in <I>Baryonyx</I>, <I>Suchomimus</I> has (1) many
>small dentary teeth in the lower jaw behind the rosette, (2)
>nostrils shifted further back on the skull (posterior to the
>premaxillary teeth), and (3) robust forelimbs armed with very
>large curving claws, including a sickle-like thumb, that could be
>used like gaffing hooks on fish or other prey. <I>Suchomimus</I>
>also has tall blade-like neural spines along its back, rising
>into a low "sail" over the hip region (sacral vertebrae) and base
>of the tail--a contrast with <I>Spinosaurus</I>, in which the
>tallest part a much larger bony sail stands over the chest region
>(mid-dorsal vertebrae). Nearly 3.5 m (12 ft) high at the hips,
><I>Suchomimus</I> may have waded into rivers and lakes like a
>bear to catch fish, but probably could swim in deeper water as
>well, using its back legs and possibly its tail for propulsion.
>
>Type species: <I>Suchomimus</I> <I>tenerensis</I> [ten-e-REN-sis]
>"from Tenere (Desert)": "for the region of the Sahara in which it
>was discovered," the Tenere Desert in central Niger, west-central
>Africa.
>
>Theropoda Tetanurae Spinosauroidea Spinosauridae Baryonychinae
>Early Cretaceous (Aptian) Africa


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