Friday, March 6, 2015

New Semi-Aquatic Spinosaur Unveiled At Animal Adventures Institute

Right when we thought that we wouldn't see another dinosaur from Dr. Steve Stevenson's Animal Adventures Institute (AAI) until next winter, he unveils yet another! This time, a large theropod called Suchomimus. Hearing the news of Dr. Steve's newest genetically engineered dinosaur, my trusty, junior photographer, Daniel P. Smithwater, and I went to Dr. Steve's laboratory to get a look at the new creature.

“The reason we didn't unveil this beauty before,” says Dr. Steve, “is because we were thought its egg was a dud. However, instead of giving up on it, we decided to keep it in the incubator and low and behold...my assistant Oliver Oviraptor found the problem.” Dr. Steve went on to explain that Oliver had turned the temperature too low for too long, explaining why it wasn't hatching. “What can I say?” Oliver asked. “How was I supposed to know it was too low.”

Without further ado, I decided to ask just what Suchomimus was. Oliver is quoted for saying, “The 36-foot long, five-ton Suchomimus tenerensis was a member of the spinosaur family. It lived in northern Africa up until 4,350 years ago, when the great Genesis Flood destroyed the pre-Flood world as man and animal at the time knew it.”

I found out that day that Suchomimus spends a lot of time in and around the water. It was perfectly designed for a semi-aquatic lifestyle (though not to the extent of the short-legged Spinosaurus, Suchomimus' close cousin). Its eyes and nostrils are located high on the skull, just like a crocodile's. In addition to this, it also has a crocodile-like jaw able to snatch its favorite prey – fish – from the water. To help it catch fish, it also had sharp claws and strong forearms. “The fish that Suchomimus preyed upon,” Dr. Steve said, “were very different from the ones found in that region today. Actually, the entire ecosystem was different back then! In the pre-Flood world, northern Africa was a swampland, filled with boggy plants. The area was inhabited by herbivorous dinosaurs, like the sail-backed ornithopod Ouranosaurus. Pterosaurs and large crocodiles, like the 40-foot Sarcosuchus also lived there. Suchomimus probably preyed upon large fish such as the Coelocanth, which can still be found in the Indian Ocean today.”

But one of the coolest features of Suchomimus was the ridge down its back and tail. It is used for display purposes.

Suchomimus – the awesome semi-aquatic fish-eater – will be living in the Spinosaurus apartment room. I'm glad Dr. Steve has brought back another species from extinction.

Written by: Mr. Smiley
Photographer: Daniel P. Smithwater
Edited by: Christian Ryan


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