Carcharodontosaurus saharicus

Overview

Carcharodontosaurus, meaning "shark-toothed lizard," was one of the largest meat-eating dinosaurs ever—rivaling T. rex in size! Living approximately 100-94 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous in North Africa, this fearsome predator had teeth like a great white shark and shared its territory with the equally famous Spinosaurus.

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Taxonomy & Classification

• Clade: Theropoda
• Family: Carcharodontosauridae
• Diet: Carnivorous
• Locomotion: Bipedal

Carcharodontosaurus was related to other giant predators like Giganotosaurus from South America.

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Physical Characteristics

Size & Build

• Length: 12-13 meters (39-43 feet)
• Height: About 4 meters (13 feet) at the hip
• Weight: 6,000-8,000 kg (6.6-8.8 tons)
• Skull Length: 1.6 meters (5.2 feet)—huge!

Shark Teeth

Carcharodontosaurus got its name from its incredible teeth:

• Teeth up to 20 cm (8 inches) long!
• Serrated edges like a steak knife
• Shaped exactly like great white shark teeth
• Designed for slicing flesh, not crushing bone
• Could lose and replace teeth throughout life

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Slasher, Not Crusher

Hunting Style

Carcharodontosaurus hunted differently from T. rex:

• Sliced through flesh with shark-like teeth
• Didn't crush bones like T. rex
• Probably caused massive bleeding wounds
• May have bitten and backed off, waiting for prey to weaken
• Like a land-based great white shark!

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Living with Spinosaurus

Predator Paradise

Carcharodontosaurus shared its world with other giants:

• Spinosaurus (the sail-backed fish-eater)
• Deltadromeus (fast-running predator)
• Giant crocodilians like Sarcosuchus
• How did they all coexist? Different diets and habitats!

Different Prey

• Spinosaurus focused on fish
• Carcharodontosaurus hunted land dinosaurs
• They probably avoided each other when possible
• But conflicts likely happened!

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Carcharodontosaurus vs. T. rex

Feature	Carcharodontosaurus	T. rex
Length	12-13m	12m
Weight	6-8 tons	8-9 tons
Skull	1.6m (longer)	1.5m
Teeth	Shark-like, slicing	Bone-crushing
Arms	Moderate	Tiny
Location	Africa	North America
Time	100-94 mya	68-66 mya

They never met—lived 30 million years apart!

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A Tragic History

Lost Fossils

Carcharodontosaurus has a sad story:

• First fossils found in Egypt in 1924
• Described by Ernst Stromer
• Original fossils destroyed in WWII bombing (1944)
• All of Stromer's priceless specimens lost!
• New fossils found in Morocco in 1995
• Now we know even more about this giant

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Discovery & Naming

The Name

• Named in 1931 by Ernst Stromer
• "Carcharodon" = great white shark genus
• "Saurus" = lizard
• Named for its shark-like teeth
• Modern fossils from Morocco helped rebuild our knowledge

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Where It Lived

North Africa

Carcharodontosaurus fossils found in:

• Morocco (most recent discoveries)
• Algeria and Egypt
• The famous Kem Kem Beds
• Once a lush river system, now Sahara Desert!

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Cool Facts

• Carcharodontosaurus had a larger skull than T. rex!
• Its teeth looked exactly like a great white shark's
• The original fossils were destroyed in World War II
• It shared its world with Spinosaurus—two giants, one ecosystem
• Unlike T. rex, it had usable arms with sharp claws
• Scientists found brain casts showing it had good smell and vision
• One of the top 5 largest land predators ever

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Carcharodontosaurus was Africa's answer to T. rex—a shark-toothed giant that proves the Cretaceous world had room for multiple mega-predators!