Carcharodontosaurus (; "shark-toothed lizard") 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 late Cretaceous period. 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 (specimen the species is based on) 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.
C. saharicus reached around in length and approximately in body mass, and was therefore one of the largest theropod dinosaurs known. It had a large, lightly built skull with a triangular snout. Its jaws were lined with sharp, recurved, and teeth that bear striking resemblances to those of the great white shark (genus Carcharodon), the inspiration for the name. Though giant, its cranium was made lighter by greatly expanded fossae (depressions in bone) and fenestrae (holes in the skull), 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 Africa at the time was blanketed in mangrove forests and wetlands, creating a hotspot of fish, crocodyliforms, and pterosaur diversity.
Discovery and species Initial finds
In 1924, two teeth of Carcharodontosaurus were unearthed from wall cuts in different foggaras near Timimoun, French Algeria. These sediments came from the Cretaceous-aged Continental intercalaire Formation. The fossils were taken to the governor of Timimoun, Captain Burté, who gave them to French paleontologist Charles Depéret later that year. In 1925, Depéret and his colleague Justin Savornin described the teeth as coming from a new species of theropod dinosaur, Megalosaurus saharicus. These were the first fossils of theropods to be described from the region. The specific name saharicus refers to the Sahara Desert where the teeth had been found. Two years later, Depéret and Savornin reassigned the same teeth under the name M. (Dryptosaurus) saharicus, thereby placing the species in a subgenus. By accident, another species of Megalosaurus, M. africanus, was named by German paleontologist Friedrich von Huene based on the same teeth. It is therefore implied that it is a junior synonym of M. saharicus. The two original teeth described by Depéret and Savornin have since been reported as lost, being possibly kept in a collection in Algeria, Paris, or Lyon, and lack distinguishing characteristics from other carcharodontosaurids. Moreover, the genus Megalosaurus is known to have historically been a wastebasket taxon that included several species assigned without justification, the only currently recognised species being M. bucklandii. Later authors mentioned additional fossils from other provinces of Algeria that could belong to Carcharodontosaurus.
However, a partial skeleton later assigned to C. saharicus was first found in marls near Ain Gedid, Egypt, in early April 1914 by Austro-Hungarian paleontologist Richard Markgraf.Czech article about Richard Markgraf (discoverer of dinosaur fossils) Marls from this region derive from the Cenomanian-aged Bahariya Formation, one of many Cretaceous-aged sites of North Africa. In this formation, Markgraf did extensive collecting of dinosaur skeletons for his employer, German paleontologist Ernst Stromer of the Paläontologisches Museum München (Bavarian State Collection of Paleontology). In August 1914, war broke out between the German Empire and then British-owned Egypt. As a result, this skeleton, since numbered as SNSB-BSPG 1922 X 46, took years to get to Germany. It was not until 1922 that they were transported overseas to Munich, where they were described by Stromer in 1931.
Stromer recognized that the skeleton's teeth matched the characteristic dentition of those described by Depéret and Savornin, which led to Stromer conserving the species name saharicus. However, he found it necessary to erect a new genus for this species, Carcharodontosaurus, for their similarities, in sharpness and serrations, to the teeth of the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias). The genus name Carcharodontosaurus is therefore derived from Ancient Greek κάρχαρος (kárkharos), meaning "sharp, jagged", ὀδούς (odoús), meaning "tooth", and σαῦρος (saûros), meaning "lizard", and thus, "sharp-toothed lizard". In his 1931 and 1934 descriptions, Stromer designates the smaller of the two teeth originally described by Depéret and Savornin as the type specimen (name-bearing specimen) of the taxon. Thus, this tooth, although lost, must be considered as the lectotype (a later selected type specimen) of C. saharicus. World War II broke out in 1939, leading SNSB-BSPG 1922 X 46 and other material from Bahariya to be destroyed during a British bombing raid on Munich during the night of April 24/25, 1944. An endocast (cast of the interior of the braincase) was made and survived the war, being the only remaining relic of the specimen.
However in 2025, this specimen was redescribed as the holotype of a distinct carcharodontosaurid genus, Tameryraptor. Following World War II, few major discoveries of Carcharodontosaurus were made. Dozens of isolated teeth and bones were assigned to Carcharodontosaurus from sites across North Africa including in Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and Niger, as it was the only carcharodontosaurid known from the region at the time. This led many fossils of carcharodontosaurids found during French geologic expeditions to North Africa to be assigned to Carcharodontosaurus based on little information and traits now found in other genera. This is especially true for isolated teeth, which were believed to be diagnostic for the genus until later research, with a 2012 study by American researcher Matthew Carrano and colleagues stated that all isolated Carcharodontosaurus teeth from the North Africa could only be considered indeterminate carcharodontosaurid teeth due to the presence of other carcharodontosaurid genera in the region. Additionally, very little overlap exists between the C. saharicus neotype and the fossils found on these expeditions, exacerbating this issue. In 1960, French paleontologist Albert-Félix de Lapparent assigned teeth and bones from outcrops of the Continental intercalaire, Echkar Formation, and Irhazer Shale in North Africa to Carcharodontosaurus, however they were assigned to the genus without detailed taxonomic discussion or reasoning. In 1976, a postorbital (skull bone forming right side of orbit) and several postcranial remains assigned to the genus were found in the Elrhaz Formation of northern Niger. French paleontologist Philippe Taquet noted that the postorbital was similar to that of Acrocanthosaurus, another carcharodontosaurid, suggesting it may be from Carcharodontosaurus however the postcranial fossils could belong to a different taxon. Some of the fossils were misidentified, such an isolated pedal phalanx (toe bone) from the Echkar Formation was assigned to Carcharodontosaurus by Lapparent (1960), but it likely is from a spinosaurid instead, and several caudal (tail) vertebrae that may belong to a sauropod. Teeth and a caudal vertebra from the Chenini Formation of southern Tunisia have been assigned to Carcharodontosaurus, though these fossils are now labeled Carcharodontosauridae indet. Additionally, from the Gara Samani Formation, previously a part of the Continental intercalaire, have been identified as Carcharodontosaurus teeth, however they may belong to abelisaurids instead.
Resurgent interest Few discoveries of Carcharodontosaurus attributed material were made until 1995 when American paleontologist Paul Sereno found an incomplete skull during an expedition embarked on by the University of Chicago. This skull was found in the Cenomanian-aged rocks of the Lower Douira Formation, Kem Kem Beds, in Errachidia, southeastern Morocco. The presence of Carcharodontosaurus in this formation was first suggested in 1954 by French palaeontologist René Lavocat on the basis on fragmentary fossils. The skull, since catalogued as SGM-Din 1 at the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Environment in Rabat, Morocco, was first taken to the University of Chicago, where it was initially described in 1996 by Sereno and colleagues in Science. In 2007, SGM-Din 1 was officially proposed as the neotype (replacement type specimen) of C. saharicus due to the loss of the lectotype teeth and the similar age and geographic location to previously noted material. Several other fossils of C. saharicus have been unearthed from the Kem Kem Beds, such as dentary (lower jaw) fragments, two cervical (neck) vertebrae, and many teeth.
Sereno and colleagues also assigned a multitude of cervical vertebrae described as the spinosaurids Sigilmassasaurus and "Spinosaurus B" to C. saharicus, reasoning that stout cervicals would be needed to carry the skulls of carcharodontosaurids. Later research proved otherwise, with the vertebrae being assigned to Spinosaurus aegyptiacus. In a 2016 study, it was suggested that the neotype of C. saharicus was similar to but distinct from the skeleton described by Stromer in the morphology of the maxillary (upper jaw bone) interdental plates. This conclusion was partially supported by the paper describing Tameryraptor, which noted several major differences between the Moroccan Carcharodontosaurus and the material described by Stromer. Because the neotype proposal was in accordance with the ICZN article 75.3 and 75.4, the describers of Tameryraptor agreed that SGM-Din 1 is a valid neotype.