Carcharodontosaurus saharicus

Carcharodontosaurus saharicus Tooth, 94-99 million years old, Morocco Fossil 48x20 mm Provenance: market (Italy) Conservation status. Surface: 80% (cracks in dentin) Conservation status. Support: 85% (gaps, additions) Carcharodontosaurus (literally "shark-toothed lizard") is a genus of carnivorous theropod dinosaur that lived in North Africa about 99-94 million years ago during the Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous. Two teeth of the genus, now lost, were first described in Algeria by French paleontologists Charles Depéret and Justin Savornin as Megalosaurus saharicus. A partial skeleton was collected by German paleontologist Ernst Stromer during a 1914 expedition to Egypt. Stromer did not report the Egyptian find until 1931, when he dubbed the new genus "carcharodontosaurus," creating the type species saharicus. In 1995 a nearly complete skull of carcharodontosaurus saharicus, the first well-preserved specimen found in nearly a century, was discovered in the Kem Kem Beds, Morocco. Carcharodontosaurus is one of the largest known theropod dinosaurs. The saharicus species reaches 12-12.5 meters in length and about 5-7 tons of body mass. It had a large, light skull with a triangular rostrum. Its jaws were covered with sharp, curved, serrated teeth that strikingly resembled those of the great white shark, hence the name. Although giant, its skull was made lighter by greatly expanded pits and windows, but they also made it more fragile than that of tyrannosaurids. Its forelimbs were tiny while its hind limbs were strong and muscular. Like most other theropods, it had an elongated tail to maintain balance. Many giant theropods lived in North Africa at the same time, including both species of carcharodontosaurus, spinosaurus, the possible ceratosaur defined as deltadromeus, the large and dubious theropod bahariasaurus, and an unclassified large abelisaurid. Studies of the anatomy of the teeth of carcarodontosaurids revealed that the bite was strong but not as strong as that of other theropod families. North Africa at the time was covered with mangrove forests and wetlands, rich in fish, crocodiles and pterosaurs. The fossil dates to the Upper Cretaceous, Cenomanian stage, and was excavated near the town of Erfour, in the Kem Kem beds, Morocco.