Carcharodontosaurus: How Did These Giant Predators Rule the Early Cretaceous?

A group of substantial meat-eating dinosaurs ruled the Early to Mid-Cretaceous period long before the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex took over the late Cretaceous world.

One of these dangerous top hunters was the Carcharodontosaurus, a genus as big and dangerous as or even more so than T. rex.

Carcharodontosaurus: How Did These Giant Predators Rule the Early Cretaceous — (Photo: Getty Images/ Joyce Naltchayan)

Carcharodontosaurus's Blade-Like Teeth and How They Evolved Over Time

Carcharodontosaurus lived in North Africa between 99 million and 94 million years ago. It was huge and had teeth that looked like blades. These theropods were about 12 meters (39 feet) long and weighed about six tons, making them some of the biggest meat-eating dinosaurs this world has ever seen.

Carcharodontosaurus lacked T. rex-like teeth, but it did have a distinct hunting style. Their teeth featured sharp edges that made them ideal for slicing into the flesh of their meal, which most likely included the massive sauropods of the time.

According to Juan Ignacio Canale, a geologist at Argentina's National Scientific and Technical Research Council, many sauropod teeth that are not attached to other teeth have been discovered. He claimed that the teeth show that the dinosaurs ate these large herbivores, whether they were actively hunting or simply picking through dead animals.

In the 1920s, two teeth were discovered in North Africa, once considered Megalosaurus. This marked the beginning of the research into Carcharodontosaurus.

Many giant theropod fossils were thrown together at the time, leading to many misunderstandings. The true nature of Carcharodontosaurus wasn't known until the German paleontologist Ernst Stromer found a well-preserved example in Egypt. Stromer named the dinosaur after the Carcharodon shark because its teeth were shaped like a shark's.

Sadly, this first specimen was lost during World War II, so scientists can only use Stromer's descriptions. It wasn't until the 1990s that new fossils found in Morocco and Niger made things clearer. These fossils led to naming two species: Carcharodontosaurus saharicus and Carcharodontosaurus iguidensis.

Unique Characteristics and Family Traits

The Carcharodontosaurus belonged to the same family as Giganotosaurus and Mapusaurus, two other massive predators. These dinosaurs were noted for their gigantic size, complex skull ornamentation, and unique teeth. Carcharodontosaurids possessed three fingers on their shorter arms, distinguishing them from Tyrannosaurids, who had just two.

New information about this family has shown how different its members are. For example, Canale's team found Meraxes gigas in Argentina. It is another large Carcharodontosaurid with unique claws and feet. The results show that the family had several changes, which may have been related to different ways of hunting or different ecological niches.

How Carcharodontosaurus grew slowly, lived a long time, and died out

One intriguing feature about Carcharodontosaurus and its family is that they grew slowly. Carcharodontosaurs grew slowly. It took them decades to reach their peak size, while some great predators grew swiftly. Meraxes gigas, for instance, grew up over at least 28 years and lived up to 53 years, which is pretty long for a dinosaur.

Canale says that more research needs to be done on other carcharodontosaurid skeletons to determine whether this slow growth was typical. Figuring out how they grow could help us learn about their life history and how they survive in the wild.

Carcharodontosaurs were very common, but they quickly stopped being found in fossils. The middle Cretaceous replaced them with abelisaurids and tyrannosaurids, dangerous hunters. It's still unclear why they went out of power, which adds to the wonder of these ancient giants.

The enormous size and teeth resembling sharks make the Carcharodontosaurus a fascinating fossil to paleontologists today. They were mighty hunters in the Early Cretaceous, leaving a lasting mark on the history of life on Earth. More fossils are being found and studied.