Overview
Name meaning: Shark tooth lizard
Time Period: Albian to Cenomanian ( Late Cretaceous)
Locations: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Niger.
Taxonomy: Theropoda-Carcharodontosauridae
Subspecies: C. Saharicus C. iguidensis
Characteristics
The head of the Carcharodontosauridae family and its long goofy name means shark tooth lizard. It lived in the Earliest part of the late Cretaceous when Africa was a tropical wetland. It was massive with most estimates placing it at 43 feet long, 5th largest terrestrial carnivore, and 6 metric tons, the weight of 88 humans. It had 62 massive 4.25-inch teeth with many serrations and frequently lost those teeth compared to other theropods. It had longer arms than the others with 3 digits that could be used for hunting and holding. Living in the lush tropical wetlands of what is now Northern Africa, Carcharodontosaurus was the apex predator of the ecosystem, scavenging and hunting sauropods like Paralititan and Rebbachisaurus. While also living among other tough predators like Spinosaurus and Deltadromeus.
History
Carcharodontosaurus was found all over northern Africa, but most importantly in the Sahara, where it was discovered and given the name Saharicus by Ernst Stromer in 1931. The original holotype was classified and named 9 years later, although that skeleton was destroyed in WW2 bombing, just like his good pal Spinosaurus.
Media Deptictions
Jurassic World Evolution: Added in the Late Cretaceous Species Pack. Looking at the Carcharodontosaurus model leaves me in a perpetual state of disappointment. Its face and body are far too elongated and it has iguana spikes along its back and one jarring spike atop the head that looks like a dumb unicorn horn. The roar does take sound design from the Jurassic Park Operation Genesis Carcharodontosaurus.
Prehistoric Kingdom: C. Saharicus and C.iguidensis are both species in the game as of 2025
