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Large grey theropod with a long deep skull walking in side view
Reconstruction of Carcharodontosaurus, with anatomy after Sereno et al. (1996) and body proportions from related carcharodontosaurids.Image credit: Fred Wierum, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (unmodified except resizing)CC BY-SA 4.0 (unmodified)Source (opens in a new tab)

Carcharodontosaurus saharicus

Pronounced kar-KAR-oh-DON-toh-SORE-us sah-HAR-ih-kus

Tetanurae · Carcharodontosauridae

A giant predator from the mid-Cretaceous of North Africa with a skull about 1.6 m long and serrated, shark-like teeth. Its first skeleton was destroyed in Munich in 1944; a skull found in Morocco in 1995 replaced it.

  • Bipedal
  • Giant
  • Apex predator
Compare
Period
Cretaceous· Cenomanian
Diet
Carnivore
Length
12–12.5 m
Mass
5,000–7,000 kg
Location
Morocco, Egypt, Africa

Quick answers

How big was Carcharodontosaurus saharicus?
Carcharodontosaurus saharicus was about 12–12.5 m long. It stood about 2.8–3.3 m tall at the hips. It weighed about 5–7 t. (Wikipedia: Carcharodontosaurus 2026; Paul 2016)
When did Carcharodontosaurus saharicus live?
Carcharodontosaurus saharicus lived during the Late Cretaceous, about 100.5–93.9 million years ago. (Ibrahim et al. 2020; Paleobiology Database: Carcharodontosaurus oc… 2026)
Where have Carcharodontosaurus saharicus fossils been found?
Fossils of Carcharodontosaurus saharicus have been found in Kem Kem Group (Morocco) and Bahariya Formation (Egypt). (Sereno et al. 1996; Brusatte & Sereno 2007)
What did Carcharodontosaurus saharicus eat?
Carcharodontosaurus saharicus was a carnivore. (Sereno et al. 1996; Brusatte & Sereno 2007)
Who named Carcharodontosaurus saharicus, and when?
Carcharodontosaurus saharicus was described by Charles Depéret & Justin Savornin in 1925. (Ibrahim et al. 2020; Brusatte & Sereno 2007)

On this page

Period
Cretaceous100.5–93.9 Ma
Diet
Carnivore
Length
12–12.5 m
Mass
5–7 t
Location
Morocco, Egypt, Africa
Classification
Tetanurae · Carcharodontosauridae
Described
1925, Charles Depéret & Justin Savornin

Overview

Carcharodontosaurus saharicus lived in North Africa in the Cenomanian, about 100 to 94 million years ago, alongside Spinosaurus in a land of rivers and deltas. Charles Depéret and Justin Savornin named it Megalosaurus saharicus in 1925 from teeth found in Algeria; Ernst Stromer created the genus Carcharodontosaurus in 1931 from a partial skull and skeleton collected in 1914 by his assistant Richard Markgraf in Egypt.

Stromer's specimen was destroyed in 1944 during World War II; only a cast of its braincase survives. In 1995 Paul Sereno's team found a more complete skull in the Douira Formation of the Kem Kem region, Morocco, which became the reference specimen of the species.

Its skull was about 1.6 m long, among the longest of any meat-eating dinosaur, with blade-like teeth whose wrinkled enamel recalls a great white shark. Sereno and colleagues (1996) used it to show that carcharodontosaurids formed a widespread family of giant predators across the southern continents.

Name meaning

"Shark-toothed lizard", from Greek karcharos ("jagged"), odous ("tooth") and sauros ("lizard"), after the great white shark Carcharodon (Stromer 1931); saharicus for the Sahara.

Biology & evidence

What scientists think about how this animal lived, and how strong the evidence for each idea is.

Other

  • Carcharodontosaurids were a widespread family of giant predators on the southern continents.

    Evidence level: Moderate evidence

    Close relatives such as Giganotosaurus in South America show the family spread before Africa became isolated.

    Evidence for / against · 1
    Evidence for

    • Phylogenetic inference · Carcharodontosaurid radiation analysis

      Comparison of the Kem Kem theropods with others shows a previously unrecognised global radiation of carcharodontosaurids.

  • The first Carcharodontosaurus skeleton was destroyed in World War II.

    Evidence level: Direct evidence

    Stromer's specimen in Munich was destroyed in 1944, which is why a new reference specimen was chosen from Morocco.

    Evidence for / against · 1
    Evidence for

    • Other · Loss of Stromer's Carcharodontosaurus

      Stromer's skull and skeleton from Bahariya were destroyed in 1944; only the braincase endocast survives.

      Specimen: MB.R.2056

  • Carcharodontosaurus had one of the longest skulls of any meat-eating dinosaur.

    Evidence level: Moderate evidence

    Its skull is reconstructed at about 1.4 to 1.6 m from an incomplete specimen, in the same range as Giganotosaurus and Tyrannosaurus.

    Evidence for / against · 1
    Evidence for

    • Specimen · Carcharodontosaurus neotype skull

      A partial skull reconstructed at about 1.6 m long, referable to Carcharodontosaurus.

      Specimen: UCRC PV12

Size

Length
12–12.5 m

(41 ft)

Height
3 mpublished range 2.8–3.3 m

(9.8 ft)

Mass
5,000–7,000 kg
Carcharodontosaurus saharicus was about 12.5 m (41 ft) long, roughly 6.9 times the height of a 1.8 m adult human.

Timeline

Lived from about 100.5 to 93.9 million years ago (Ma), within the Mesozoic era (252–66 Ma).

Periods: Cenomanian (100.5–93.9 Ma), Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma)

Cenomanian stage bounds; the Kem Kem Group is Cenomanian (Ibrahim et al. 2020) and PBDB dates the neotype locality to the early Cenomanian.

Location

Formations

Map data: Natural Earth (public domain). Modern positions, not where the continents were then.

These are the places where fossils have been found, not the full area where the animal lived.

Ecosystem

Lived in: Kem Kem and Bahariya

100.5–93.9 million years ago · river system, delta, coastal plain, swamp / wetland

Cenomanian river systems and deltas along the northern edge of Africa, rich in large fish and crocodyliforms and remarkable for having several giant predatory theropods at once, with comparatively few herbivores preserved.

Same ecosystem

Spinosaurus aegyptiacus

Cretaceous· CenomanianCarnivorePiscivore

Classification

  1. cladeDinosauria
  2. cladeSaurischia
  3. cladeTheropoda
  4. cladeTetanurae
  5. superfamilyAllosauroidea
  6. familyCarcharodontosauridae
  7. genusCarcharodontosaurus
  8. speciesCarcharodontosaurus saharicus

Taxonomic status: Valid

Fossil record

Skull of Carcharodontosaurus, over 1.5 m long, on display at the Royal Ontario Museum.Image credit: Rama, CC BY-SA 2.0 fr, via Wikimedia Commons (unmodified except resizing), Royal Ontario MuseumCC BY-SA 2.0 (unmodified)Source (opens in a new tab)
Specimens
Catalog numberStatusInstitutionFound
UCRC PV12NeotypeUniversity of Chicago Research Collection (UCRC)1995
MB.R.2056SpecimenMuseum für Naturkunde (MB)1914

What has been found

Neotype: UCRC PV12

  • Preserved
  • Partial
  • Reconstructed
  • Unknown / not recorded

Neotype: UCRC PV12

Region by region (table)
Skeleton regions of Neotype: UCRC PV12
RegionState
SkullPartial · Braincase, maxilla, nasal, lacrimal and jugal figured by Ibrahim et al. 2020.
MandibleUnknown / not recorded
TeethPartial
Cervical vertebraeUnknown / not recorded
Dorsal vertebraeUnknown / not recorded
SacrumUnknown / not recorded
Caudal vertebraeUnknown / not recorded
RibsUnknown / not recorded
GastraliaUnknown / not recorded
Scapula / shoulder girdleUnknown / not recorded
HumerusUnknown / not recorded
Forearm (radius / ulna)Unknown / not recorded
Hand (manus)Unknown / not recorded
PelvisUnknown / not recorded
FemurUnknown / not recorded
Tibia / fibulaUnknown / not recorded
Foot (pes)Unknown / not recorded

Specimen: MB.R.2056

Region by region (table)
Skeleton regions of Specimen: MB.R.2056
RegionState
SkullPartial · Endocast only.
MandibleUnknown / not recorded
TeethUnknown / not recorded
Cervical vertebraeUnknown / not recorded
Dorsal vertebraeUnknown / not recorded
SacrumUnknown / not recorded
Caudal vertebraeUnknown / not recorded
RibsUnknown / not recorded
GastraliaUnknown / not recorded
Scapula / shoulder girdleUnknown / not recorded
HumerusUnknown / not recorded
Forearm (radius / ulna)Unknown / not recorded
Hand (manus)Unknown / not recorded
PelvisUnknown / not recorded
FemurUnknown / not recorded
Tibia / fibulaUnknown / not recorded
Foot (pes)Unknown / not recorded
Skull reconstruction of the Carcharodontosaurus saharicus neotype UCRC PV12; known bones in white, missing parts restored after related carcharodontosaurids.Image credit: Eotyrannu5, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (unmodified except resizing)CC BY-SA 4.0 (unmodified)Source (opens in a new tab)

All specimens

Discovery

Year described
1925
Described by
Charles Depéret & Justin Savornin
Type specimen
UCRC PV12 (neotype)

Discovery timeline

  1. 1925 · Formally described

    Depéret and Savornin name Megalosaurus saharicus

    Two teeth from Algeria are named as a species of Megalosaurus.

  2. 1931 · Renamed

    Stromer names Carcharodontosaurus

    Stromer places the species in a new genus based on a skull and skeleton from Bahariya, Egypt.

    People: Ernst Stromer, Richard Markgraf

  3. 1944 · Revision

    Carcharodontosaurus skeleton destroyed in Munich

    Stromer's specimen is lost in World War II.

  4. 1995 · Specimen recovered

    Sereno's team finds a Carcharodontosaurus skull in Morocco

    A more complete skull is found in the Kem Kem region.

    People: Paul C. Sereno

Sources

  1. (2026). Paleobiology Database: Carcharodontosaurus occurrences. The Paleobiology Database (paleobiodb.org), data service 1.2, accessed 2026-09-23. https://paleobiodb.org/data1.2/occs/list.txt?base_name=Carcharodontosaurus&show=coords,paleoloc,strat,loc,ref&pgm=gplates (opens in a new tab)
  2. (2026). Wikipedia: Carcharodontosaurus. Wikipedia (English), accessed 2026-09-23. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcharodontosaurus (opens in a new tab)
  3. Brusatte, S. L. & Sereno, P. C. (2007). A new species of Carcharodontosaurus (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Cenomanian of Niger and a revision of the genus. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 27(4): 902-916. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2007)27[902:ANSOCD]2.0.CO;2 (opens in a new tab)
  4. Cohen, K. M., Harper, D. A. T., Gibbard, P. L. & Car, N. (2023). International Chronostratigraphic Chart (v2023/09). International Commission on Stratigraphy. https://stratigraphy.org/ICSchart/ChronostratChart2023-09.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  5. Ibrahim, N., Sereno, P. C., Varricchio, D. J., Martill, D. M., Dutheil, D. B., Unwin, D. M., Baidder, L., Larsson, H. C. E., Zouhri, S. & Kaoukaya, A. (2020). Geology and paleontology of the Upper Cretaceous Kem Kem Group of eastern Morocco. ZooKeys 928: 1-216. doi:10.3897/zookeys.928.47517 (opens in a new tab)
  6. Paul, G. S. (2016). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs (2nd edition). Princeton University Press.
  7. Sereno, P. C., Dutheil, D. B., Iarochene, M., Larsson, H. C. E., Lyon, G. H., Magwene, P. M., Sidor, C. A., Varricchio, D. J. & Wilson, J. A. (1996). Predatory dinosaurs from the Sahara and Late Cretaceous faunal differentiation. Science 272: 986-991. doi:10.1126/science.272.5264.986 (opens in a new tab)