“The Shark-Toothed Giant of the Sahara”
Binomial Carcharodontosaurus saharicus · kar-KAR-oh-DON-toh-SOR-us
Late Cretaceous · 100-94 Ma
IllustrationCarcharodontosaurus fossil records in Fossil Atlas are mapped as selected modern discovery locations, with 12 source-backed records currently shown. Known from North Africa, including Morocco and other Saharan Cretaceous deposits associated with Kem Kem-style records. Key mapped formations in the current dataset include Alcântara, Continental Intercalaire, Douiret. These pins are fossil record locations, not a complete ancient habitat map.
Carcharodontosaurus was a giant predatory theropod from Cretaceous North Africa. Its long blade-like teeth and skull material make it one of the most important Spinosaurus-adjacent animals for Kem Kem content. Fossil Atlas maps selected records and treats commercial and incomplete provenance with visible caveats.
Drawn true to scale on a metre ruler.
Length
measured13 m · 43 ft
Largest known specimens
Height
measured4.0 m · 13 ft
Body mass
estimate6,200 kg · 13,700 lb
Typical adult
Top speed
estimate32 km/h · 20 mph
Modelled, debated
Bite force
estimate6,700 lbf
Teeth
measured≈ 64
Brain : body (EQ)
estimate1.2
Encephalization quotient
Carcharodontosaurus was the dominant large predator of the Cenomanian North African ecosystem, a role that brought it into contact and likely competition with Spinosaurus. Its teeth were long and blade-like with fine serrations, built for slicing through large prey rather than crushing bone. This is a fundamentally different predatory strategy from tyrannosaurids, and its skull mechanics reflect that difference.
The teeth
Long, flattened, laterally compressed teeth with serrated edges, similar in shape to a shark's. Good for cutting through flesh and muscle but not designed for the bone-crushing bite of tyrannosaurs.
The skull
Large but relatively lightly built, with a long snout. The skull alone exceeded 1.6 metres in some estimates, making it one of the longest theropod skulls known.
Ecology
Shared the North African river systems with Spinosaurus. The two giants likely partitioned food resources, with Carcharodontosaurus targeting terrestrial prey and Spinosaurus focusing on aquatic animals.
Size
Comparable in length to T. rex but from a completely different lineage, reaching an estimated 12-13 metres. Size estimates carry some uncertainty due to the fragmentary nature of the material.
Position of this animal’s known range across 252 million years of the Mesozoic and beyond.
100-94 million years ago
Carcharodontosaurus means shark-toothed lizard.
Its blade-like teeth differ from the thick crushing teeth of T. rex.
It lived in the same broad North African story as Spinosaurus.
Adding it makes Kem Kem feel like a fossil ecosystem, not a one-animal page.
Charles Depéret and J. Savornin described teeth from Algeria in 1925 and Ernst Stromer named the genus. The original material was lost, as much Saharan fossil material from that era was. In 1995, Paul Sereno's team found a much more complete skull in Morocco that transformed understanding of the animal. A second, larger skull was described in 2007 by Steve Brusatte and Sereno, showing Carcharodontosaurus included more than one species and was even bigger than earlier estimates.
Animals known from the same deposits and time as Carcharodontosaurus.
Spinosaurus
The other giant predator of the same North African deposits, likely exploiting different prey and avoiding direct competition through ecological partitioning.
Deltadromeus
A large, lightly built theropod from the Kem Kem beds, faster-moving but considerably smaller than both giants.
Rebbachisaurus
A large sauropod from the same formation and a likely prey animal for Carcharodontosaurus.
Other members of Carcharodontosauridae.
Giganotosaurus
A South American relative of similar size, part of the same carcharodontosaurid family that dominated large predator niches across the Cretaceous southern continents.
Allosaurus
A more distant Jurassic relative, the dominant predator of the Morrison Formation, in the same broader allosauroid group.
Acrocanthosaurus
A North American carcharodontosaurid from the Early Cretaceous, showing the family had a wide geographic range before the giants of the Cenomanian.
Pins show selected fossil records for Carcharodontosaurus; use them as modern discovery evidence, not a complete range map. Modern fossil discovery map: pins show where selected fossil and specimen records were found today, not ancient Earth positions. What does this mean?
Specimen evidence
These are sourced specimen assets, separate from reconstruction artwork. Only media with clear open or reusable rights is displayed by default.
Carcharodontosaurus is represented here by selected fossil records from known from north africa, including morocco and other saharan cretaceous deposits associated with kem kem-style records. Fossil Atlas maps those records as modern discovery locations.
No. The map shows modern fossil discovery locations from selected records. Ancient habitat and paleogeographic reconstructions are separate questions.
The current Fossil Atlas records include Alcântara. Formation coverage depends on the selected dataset and may not be complete.
Yes. Use the expedition card generator to turn the Carcharodontosaurus map and specimen profile into a shareable card.
Selected fossil records from PBDB and museum biodiversity aggregators. This is not a complete fossil count by country; source labels and confidence notes help distinguish canonical paleobiology records from specimen-media records.
Reconstruction images are labeled illustrations and do not represent fossil evidence. Size, speed, and bite-force figures are typical published estimates and remain subject to revision as new specimens are described.
Maps use curated PBDB, museum, and specimen-source records with visible caveats.
Pins show where fossils were found or reported today, not exact ancient habitat positions.
Artwork is labeled separately from specimen photos, maps, and source records.
Request desk
Request another dinosaur like Carcharodontosaurus, submit a correction, or tell us what would make this page useful as a printable card.
Tell us which dinosaur or fossil site to map next, flag a correction, suggest a new pin, or request a card pack. Hit the button to open a prefilled email. We read every one.
Email request