# Suchoolithus

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Suchoolithus Temporal range: Upper Tithonian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Holotype clutch, containing 13 eggs Egg fossil classification Basic shell type: †Crocodiloid Oofamily: †Krokolithidae Oogenus: †Suchoolithus Russo et al., 2017 Oospecies †S. portucalensis Russo et al. 2017(type)

***Suchoolithus*** is an [oogenus](/source/Oogenus) (fossil egg genus) of [crocodylomorph](/source/Crocodylomorph) eggs from the late [Jurassic](/source/Jurassic) of [Portugal](/source/Portugal). They are notable for their small size, and for being among the oldest known crocodylomorph eggs.

## Description

*Suchoolithus* is known from a single, well-preserved [egg clutch](/source/Clutch_(eggs)) of 13 eggs. The eggs have a blunt, ellipsoid shape, and are quite small (measuring only 42 mm (1.7 in) long by 26 mm (1.0 in) across). All but two of the eggs are arranged horizontally in the clutch.[1] The eggshell is only 163 μm thick,[2] and is sculpted with tiny, irregular bumps on its outer surface. Like other crocodylian eggs, its shell is composed of thousands of tiny calcium carbonate crystal units; in *S. portucalensis*, these eggshell units are trapezoidal, tightly packed, and wider than they are tall. Russo *et al.* 2017 did not observe any pores openings on the eggshell's surface,[1] though a possible pore canal was observed in one section of the shell.[3]

## History

Fossil crocodylian eggs are generally rare, though they have been discovered worldwide (excepting [Antarctica](/source/Antarctica) and [Australia](/source/Australia)). In 2008, the Portuguese paleontologist [Octávio Mateus](/source/Oct%C3%A1vio_Mateus) discovered a fossilized [egg clutch](/source/Egg_clutch) at the [Lourinhã Formation](/source/Lourinh%C3%A3_Formation) of Portugal that would later become [holotype](/source/Holotype) of *Suchoolithus*.[1] These eggs were first described in 2014 by Russo, Mateus, Balbino, and Marzola, who at the time tentatively referred them to *Krokolithes*, but noted their similarities to the Krokolithid *[Bauruoolithus](/source/Bauruoolithus)*.[2] In 2016, João Russo, working with [Octávio Mateus](/source/Oct%C3%A1vio_Mateus) as his supervisor and Balbino as co-supervisor, completed his Master's Thesis at [Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa](/source/Faculdade_de_Ci%C3%AAncias_e_Tecnologia_da_Universidade_Nova_de_Lisboa), in which he named the oogenus and oospecies *Suchoolithus portucalensis* (meaning "crocodile egg stone from Portugal").[3] The next year, Russo, Mateus, Marzola, and Balbino published the description of *Suchoolithus* in *[PLOS One](/source/PLOS_One)*.[1]

## Paleobiology and paleoecology

*[Bernissartia](/source/Bernissartia)*, a crocodylomorph from the Lourinhã Formation, and possibly the parent of *Suchoolithus*

*Suchoolithus* is known exclusively from the upper [Tithonian](/source/Tithonian) of the Late Jurassic [Lourinhã Formation](/source/Lourinh%C3%A3_Formation) of Portugal, making it (alongside *[Krokolithes](/source/Krokolithes) dinophilus*) the oldest known crocodylomorph egg.[1] This formation, representing the deposits of [river deltas](/source/River_delta) and [alluvial fans](/source/Alluvial_fan), has similar fauna and flora to the contemporaneous [Morrison Formation](/source/Morrison_Formation) in the United States and the [Tendaguru Formation](/source/Tendaguru_Formation) in Tanzania.[4] Several types of crocodylomorphs are known from the late Jurassic of Portugal, but given the small size of the eggs, it is most likely that *Suchoolithus* were laid by one of the smaller species (perhaps less than 1 m (3.3 ft) long), such as *[Bernissartia](/source/Bernissartia)*, [cf.](/source/Cf.) *[Alligatorium](/source/Alligatorium)*, *[Lisboasaurus](/source/Lisboasaurus)*, *[Lusitanisuchus](/source/Lusitanisuchus)*, or *[Theriosuchus](/source/Theriosuchus)*.[1]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Russo_et_al_2017_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Russo_et_al_2017_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Russo_et_al_2017_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Russo_et_al_2017_1-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-Russo_et_al_2017_1-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-Russo_et_al_2017_1-5) Russo, João; Mateus, Octávio; Marzola, Marco; Balbino, Ausenda (2017). ["Two new ootaxa from the late Jurassic: The oldest record of crocodylomorph eggs, from the Lourinha Formation, Portugal"](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5342183). *PLOS ONE*. **12** (3) e0171919. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2017PLoSO..1271919R](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017PLoSO..1271919R). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1371/journal.pone.0171919](https://doi.org/10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0171919). [PMC](/source/PMC_(identifier)) [5342183](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5342183). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [28273086](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28273086).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Russo_et_al_2014_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Russo_et_al_2014_2-1) Russo, João; Mateus, Octávio; Balbino, Ausenda; Marzola, Marco (2014). ["Crocodylomorph eggs and eggshells from the Lourinhã Fm. (Upper Jurassic), Portugal"](http://www.lneg.pt/download/9611/113_2912_ART_CG14_ESPECIAL_I.pdf) (PDF). *Comunicações Geológicas*. **101** (Especial I): 563–566.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Russo_2016_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Russo_2016_3-1) Russo, João (2016). [*Eggs and eggshells of Crocodylomorpha from the Upper Jurassic of Portugal*](https://run.unl.pt/bitstream/10362/16900/1/Russo_2015.pdf) (PDF) (M.Sc.). Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Mateus_2006_4-0)** Mateus, Octavio (2006). "Late Jurassic dinosaurs from the Morrison Formation, the Lourinhã and Alcobaça Formations (Portugal), and the Tendaguru Beds (Tanzania): a comparison". *New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin*. **36**: 223–231.

Taxon identifiers Suchoolithus Wikidata: Q30692638 ZooBank: 6056E490-8B77-4DD5-87D4-1FA175150B2D

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Suchoolithus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suchoolithus) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suchoolithus?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.