Carcharodontosaurus

Carcharodontosaurus is a genus of large theropod dinosaur that lived in Northwest Africa from about 100 to 94 million years ago during the Cenomanian age of the Cretaceous. The genus was first described in 1925 by French paleontologists Charles Depéret and Justin Savornin as Megalosaurus saharicus, based on two fossil teeth discovered in Algeria, which are now lost. A partial skeleton was discovered in Egypt as early as 1914 by crews of German paleontologist Ernst Stromer, although he did not report the find until 1931. Based on this specimen as well as the teeth previously described by Depéret and Savornin, Stromer established the genus Carcharodontosaurus, with C. saharicus as the only species. Although the Egyptian skeleton was destroyed during World War II, it was redescribed as a closely related but distinct genus, Tameryraptor, based on historical photographs in 2025. In 1995, a large incomplete skull attributed to C. saharicus was discovered in the Kem Kem Beds of Morocco, which was officially proposed as the neotype in 2007. In the same year, fossils unearthed from the Farak Formation of Niger were described and named as another species, C. iguidensis, though this taxon might belong to a different genus.Its jaws were lined with sharp, recurved, and serrated teeth that bear striking resemblances to those of the great white shark, the inspiration for the name. Though giant, its cranium was made lighter by greatly expanded fossae and fenestrae, but this made the cranium more fragile than that of tyrannosaurids. Studies of the bite force and tooth anatomy of Carcharodontosaurus suggest a relatively low bite force compared to other large theropods. Although the skeleton is incompletely known, it is thought to have had small forelimbs, powerful hind limbs, and a long tail that provided balance. Several other gigantic theropods are known from North Africa during this period, including the spinosaurid Spinosaurus and the possible ceratosaur Deltadromeus. North Afric