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REASON 5 TO VISIT #ULTIMATEDINOS: SUCHOMIMUS!

THE BEAUT

Simply put, I believe Suchomimus is not only the most beautiful dinosaur on display in Ultimate Dinosaurs: Giants of Gondwana, but also, by far, the most beautiful giant theropod dinosaur known to science!

Look at this lanky beauty. Such long striding legs, and strong and large grasping arms.
And I need to be very real here, I have a thing for giant theropods with appropriately sized arms. None of this, “T-rex trying” business Suchomimus, does not try, it just gets it done. Like Yoda.
The skull. There’s so much to say! It’s slender and it seems to go on forever. And when you get underneath of it, it’s barely there!
The ridge of spines that goes along its back, just seem appropriate. Not giant and bizarre like that of its cousin the Spinosaurus, but majestic and becoming. Very regal.

PHOTOGRAPHY

I’ve spoken before about how this exhibit really helped me understand my deep love for photography. One of the greatest experiences I had doing any sort of photography was during the birth of this exhibit when we were installing the Suchomimus. Underneath each giant platform that these dinosaurs stand on is a steel latice, to hold the animal in place. I had the wonderful opportunity to get underneath this contraption and just take wacky photos. Most didn’t even turn out because I was so excited to be in this cool positon. I was lying underneath a dinosaur as it (figuratively) walked around. It was incredible and helped me appreciate just how giant these animals were.

FISHERMAN’S FRIEND?

Suchomimus was a giant beast that ate fish. In fact, the Spinosaurids, were probably the BIGGEST land fish eaters of all time. This is great news for dinosaur educators because it helps show off that not all meat eating dinosaurs hunted other giant dinosaurs. If you can imagine a bear standing in a river catching fish with it claws and mouth, you can start to get the picture of what suchomimus would have looked like. Though probably less cute, and more, well, dinosaur-y.
Its long arms and claws were perfect for grasping fish in running water, and its slender snout and long conical teeth were designed for piercing fish and holding on.
The best piece of evidence that we have that these dinosaurs ate fish, is the barb of Onchopristis (a sort of saw fish) was found emmeded in the mouth of of a Spinosaur. How awesome is that?

Make sure to check out the rest of our 28 Reasons to Visit #ultimatedinos! The greatest dinosaur exhibit ever shown (at least in my personal opinion) closes March 17th. More info here!

Have you visited? What’s your favourite part of #ultimatedinos?