Carcharodontosaurus
Carcharodontosaurus meaning "lizard with sharp teeth" (Greek karcharo "sharp"
odonto "tooth" and sauros "lizard") was a gigantic carnivorous dinosaur that
lived there between 98 and 93 million years ago during the Cretaceous
.
It would be almost as long as Tyrannosaurus, growing to 11 or even 12 meters and
weighing 4 tons estimated [1] based on the fragmentary remains of this dinosaur
Discovery
The earliest fossils of Carcharodontosaurus were discovered by Charles J. and
Depéret
Savornin North Africa in 1927.
Originally called Megalosaurus saharicus (like many theropods formerly
classified incorrectly), its name was changed in 1931 by Ernst Stromer von
Reichenbach in "Carcharodontosaurus saharicus.
The first fossils were destroyed during the Second World War, but fragments of
skull were rediscovered in Morocco in 1996 by paleontologist Paul Sereno.
In 2005, Stephen and Paul Sereno Brusatte studied a 2nd case of
Carcharodontosaurus different from C.
saharicus in some aspects of the jaw and skull.
The new species discovered in Niger, has been named Carcharodontosaurus
iguidensis (see Sereno and Brusatte, 2007)
Anatomy
Paleontologists previously believed that Carcharodontosaurus had the longest
skull of all theropod dinosaurs.
But the bones and premaxilla were missing square on the original African skull
which led to a misinterpretation of its actual size by the researchers.
A
smaller length of 1.6 m is now proposed.
Honor's largest dinosaur skull belonged to a theropod dinosaur
carcharodontosaurien other, the very close species Giganotosaurus.
The anatomy of the skull and inner ear of Carcharodontosaurus saharicus
resembles the modern crocodile (Larsson, 2001).
The size of the hypothalamus compared to that of the whole brain is similar to
non-avian reptiles, but at least coelurosauriens theropods and birds.
Ongoing studies by scientists will certainly shed further light on the
physiology, behavior, and environmental interaction of Carcharodontosaurus.
Behavior
The carnivorous Carcharodontosaurus was with enormous jaws and long, barbed
teeth 15 cm long.
It is possible that hunted in groups, but no fossil evidence exists.
It may have been both an active predator than a scavenger.
This dinosaur had long hind legs and muscular and fossilized tracks suggest it
could run at speeds around 32 kph, although there is controversy on this subject
as is the case for the Tyrannosaurus.
With a weight of 4 tons, a fall forward could be fatal to Carcharodontosaurus
because of inability to catch up with her little paws
References
* Stephen L. BRUSATI and Paul C. Sereno
(2007).
A new species of Carcharodontosaurus (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Cenomanian
of Niger and a revision of the genus.
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Volume 27, Issue 4 (December 2007),
p.902-916.
* Brusatte, S.
& P. C. Sereno, 2005.
A new species of Carcharodontosaurus (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Cenomanian
of Niger and its implications for Allosauroidea phylogeny.
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 25: 40A.
* Larsson, H.C.E., 2001.
Endocranial anatomy of Carcharodontosaurus saharicus (Theropoda: Allosauroidea)
and its implications for brain evolution Theropoda.
19-33 in D. H. Tanke & K.
Carpenter (eds.), Mesozoic Vertebrate Life.
Indiana University Press, Bloomington.
