Back كاركارودونتوصور Arabic Karkarodontozavr Azerbaijani Кархарадонтазаўр Byelorussian Кархарадантазаўр BE-X-OLD Carcarodontosaure Catalan Carcharodontosaurus CEB Carcharodontosaurus Czech Carcharodontosaurus Danish Carcharodontosaurus German Καρχαροδοντόσαυρος Greek
| Carcharodontosaurus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian),
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| Reconstructed C. saharicus skull, Science Museum of Minnesota | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Family: | †Carcharodontosauridae |
| Subfamily: | †Carcharodontosaurinae |
| Genus: | †Carcharodontosaurus Stromer, 1931 |
| Type species | |
| †Carcharodontosaurus saharicus | |
| Other species | |
| Synonyms | |
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List
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Carcharodontosaurus (/ˌkɑːrkəroʊˌdɒntoʊˈsɔːrəs/; lit. 'jagged toothed lizard') is a genus of large carnivorous theropod dinosaur that lived in Northwest Africa from about 100 to 94 million years ago during the Cenomanian age of the Cretaceous. Two teeth of the genus, now lost, were first described from Algeria by French paleontologists Charles Depéret and Justin Savornin as Megalosaurus saharicus. A partial skeleton initially referred to this genus was collected by crews of German paleontologist Ernst Stromer during a 1914 expedition to Egypt. Stromer did not report the Egyptian find until 1931, in which he dubbed the novel genus Carcharodontosaurus, making the type species C. saharicus. Although this skeleton was destroyed during the Second World War, it was subsequently redescribed as the holotype of a distinct carcharodontosaurid genus, Tameryraptor. In 1995, a nearly complete skull of C. saharicus, the first well-preserved specimen to be found in almost a century, was discovered in the Kem Kem Beds of Morocco, which was officially designated as the neotype in 2007. In the same year, fossils unearthed from the Echkar Formation of northern Niger were described and named as another species, C. iguidensis, though this species might belong to a different genus.
Carcharodontosaurus is one of the largest theropod dinosaurs known, with the type species reaching 12–12.5 m (39–41 ft) in length and approximately 5–7 metric tons (5.5–7.7 short tons) in body mass. It had a large, lightly built skull with a triangular rostrum. Its jaws were lined with sharp, recurved, serrated teeth that bear striking resemblances to those of the great white shark (genus Carcharodon), the inspiration for the name. Though giant, its cranium was made lighter by greatly expanded fossae and fenestra, but also making it more fragile than tyrannosaurids'. Studies of the bite force and tooth anatomy of carcharodontosaurids have found them to have relatively low bite force compared to other (large) theropods. The forelimbs were tiny whereas the hindlimbs were robust and muscular. Like most other theropods, it had an elongated tail for balance. Many gigantic theropods are known from North Africa during this period, including both species of Carcharodontosaurus as well as the spinosaurid Spinosaurus, the possible ceratosaur Deltadromeus and unnamed large abelisaurids. North Africa at the time was blanketed in mangrove forests and wetlands, creating a hotspot of fish, crocodyliforms, and pterosaur diversity.