Siamosaurus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Siamosaurus |
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| Life restoration (right) with the sauropod dinosaurs Phuwiangosaurus in the background and the crocodyliform Sunosuchus in the middle left. | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Family: | †Spinosauridae |
| Subfamily: | †Spinosaurinae |
| Genus: | †Siamosaurus Buffetaut & Ingavat, 1986 |
| Species | |
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Siamosaurus (meaning 'Siamese lizard') is a carnivorous theropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Thailand. It is only known from fossil teeth, so paleontologists don't know much about its size, but it might have reached a length of 9.1 meters (30 ft). The teeth that were discovered looked a lot like those of Spinosaurus, so it probably ate fish.
A study made in 2010 by Roman Amiot and his colleagues compared the teeth of spinosaurids like Baryonyx, Irritator, Siamosaurus, and Spinosaurus to other meat-eating dinosaurs. They found that spinosaurids had very semiaquatic (living partly in water, and partly on land) lifestyles. This means they lived in habitats like those of hippopotamuses, crocodiles, and turtles. It also means they could exist at the same time and place as other large predators without competing for food.
Images for kids
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Map of northeastern Thailand, with outcrops of the Sao Khua Formation (dark gray) and the Khok Kruat and Phu Kradung Formations (light gray)
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Illustration of caudal (tail) vertebrae of "Phuwiang spinosaurid B" from the Sao Khua Formation, whose remains are potentially attributable to S. suteethorni
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Diagram comparing the holotype tooth (first from left) with other spinosaurid teeth from Asia
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Hypothetical life restoration
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Partial tooth of an indeterminate spinosaurid (KDC-PV-0003) and possible Siamosaurus tooth (GMNH-PV-999), in the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo
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Skeletal diagram showing known elements of spinosaurid specimen SM-KK 14
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Spinosaurid teeth are often mistaken for those of plesiosaurs (above) and vice versa, though there are certain differences between their dentition.
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Restoration of Ichthyovenator, a spinosaurine from what is now Laos and one of the closest known relatives of Siamosaurus.'
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Vertebra from specimen SM-KK14, which may belong to Siamosaurus
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Speculative life restoration of Siamosaurus (right) in the Sao Khua Formation environment, with the goniopholidid Sunosuchus (middle left) and a herd of the sauropods Phuwiangosaurus in the background
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Restoration of a generic spinosaur feeding on a sauropod carcass in the Sao Khua Formation environment, a behavior hypothesized based on teeth belonging to Siamosaurus. The ornithomimosaurs in the background are Kinnareemimus.
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Geological map of the Khorat Plateau in northeast Thailand
See also
In Spanish: Siamosaurus suteethorni para niños
