In about 1820, British palaeontologist Gideon Mantell acquired teeth discovered near Cuckfield in the Wadhurst Clay of East Sussex, part of a lot with the present inventory number BMNH R36536.

[citation needed] In 1897, French palaeontologist Henri-Émile Sauvage named a second species: Suchosaurus girardi, based on two jaw fragments (specimen MG324) and a tooth, found in the Papo Seco Formation of Portugal by Swiss-Portuguese geologist Paul Choffat.

[7] However, when publishing a redescription of Baryonyx in 1998, British palaeontologist Angela Milner realised that the teeth of that spinosaurid dinosaur were extremely similar to those of Suchosaurus.

[citation needed] In 2007, French palaeontologist Eric Buffetaut considered the teeth of S. girardi very similar to those of Baryonyx (and S. cultridens) except for the stronger development of the ribs (lengthwise ridges) on the tooth crown, suggesting that the remains belonged to the same genus.

[14] In 2012, American vertebrate palaeontologist Thomas R. Holtz Jr. tentatively estimated Suchosaurus at around 10 metres (33 ft) in length and weighing between 1 and 4 tonnes (1.1 and 4.4 short tons).

[17] The teeth of Suchosaurus girardi were curved, oval in cross section, and had tall roots that were one and a half times taller than the crown.

[14] The Wadhurst Clay Formation, part of the Wealden Group, is dated to the Valanginian stage of the Early Cretaceous Period, about 139.8 to 132.9 million years ago.

[19] Other dinosaurs that shared this environment with Suchosaurus included the iguanodontians Barilium and Hypselospinus,[20] as well as the dubious species Megalosaurus dunkeri and an unnamed maniraptoran.