Carcharodontosauridae
The Carcharodontosauridae were a family of carnivorous theropod dinosaurs. They are a clade in the Carnosauria. Carcharodontosaurids included some of the largest land predators ever known: Giganotosaurus, Mapusaurus, Carcharodontosaurus, and Tyrannotitan. All of these were smaller than Tyrannosaurus in size.
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| Cast of a Carcharodontosaurus saharicus skull, Santa Barbara | |
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| Family: | Carcharodontosauridae [2]
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Evolution
Together with the spinosaurids, carcharodontosaurids were the largest predators in the early and middle Cretaceous throughout Gondwana. They were also in North America (Acrocanthosaurus), and Asia (Shaochilong).[3]
Their ages range from 127 to 93 million years ago (mya). After that, they may have been replaced by the smaller abelisaurids in Gondwana and by tyrannosaurids in North America and Asia. If so, this faunal replacement occurred on a global scale.[4]
However, some theropod teeth discovered in the late Cretaceous of Brazil, as well as a fragment of right maxilla appear to belong to carcharodontosaurids. This suggests the group survived until the latest Cretaceous.[1][5]
In December 2011, Oliver Rauhut described a new genus and species of carcharodontosaurid from the Upper Jurassic (late Kimmeridgian to earliest Tithonian, about 154–150 mya) of southeastern Tanzania. Veterupristisaurus is the oldest known carcharodontosaurid.[6]
Carcharodontosauridae Media
Size comparison of various theropods belonging to Carcharodontosauridae. They are Giganotosaurus, Mapusaurus, Carcharodontosaurus, Tyrannotitan, Acrocanthosaurus, Concavenator, Shaochilong. This image is a composition of the images below. Human silhouette f
Restored skull of Concavenator, drawn from 3d model of skull figured in "The cranial osteology of Concavenator corcovatus (Theropoda; Carcharodontosauria) from the Lower Cretaceous of Spain" by Elena Cuesta, Daniel Vidal, Francisco Ortega and José L. Sanz
Artistic reconstruction of Neovenator salerii. Proportions align with Hartman; cranial integument is based on Barker et al. (2017).
Concavenator corcovatus by Daniel Vidal 2012
An improved version of an existing reconstruction of the Cretaceous Nigerien carcharodontosaurid, Eocarcharia dinops.
Acrocanthosaurus restoration
Shaochilong feeding on Sinornithomimus.
Carcharodontosaurus reconstruction. Based on Giganotosaurus (Hartman), with anatomy based on Sereno et al. (1996).
Meraxes gigas life restoration updated
Life restoration of Giganotosaurus. • The proportions of the illustration are based on skeletal diagrams by palaeontologists Gregory S. Paul (The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs, 2010, p. 98) and Scott Hartman[1].*• The dermal spines and skin colouration are speculative.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Fernandes de Azevedo, Rodrigo P. et al 2013. First Brazilian carcharodontosaurid and other new theropod dinosaur fossils from the Campanian–Maastrichtian Presidente Prudente Formation, São Paulo State, southeastern Brazil. Cretaceous Research 40: 131–142. [1]
- ↑ Holtz, Thomas R. Jr. 2012. Dinosaurs: the most complete, up-to-date encyclopedia for dinosaur Lovers of all ages, Winter 2011 Appendix.
- ↑ Brusatte S. et al 2009. The first definitive carcharodontosaurid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from Asia and the delayed ascent of tyrannosaurids. Naturwissenschaften, PMID 19488730
- ↑ Novas, de Valais, Vickers-Rich, and Rich. 2005. A large Cretaceous theropod from Patagonia, Argentina, and the evolution of carcharodontosaurids. Naturwissenschaften,
- ↑ Carlos Roberto Candeiro, Philip Currie and Lílian Bergqvist (2012). "Theropod teeth from the Marília Formation (late Maastrichtian) at the Paleontological Site of Peirópolis in Minas Gerais State, Brazil". Revista Brasileira de Geociências. 42 (2): 323–330. Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2014-04-23.
- ↑ Rauhut, Oliver (2011). "Theropod dinosaurs from the late Jurassic of Tendaguru (Tanzania)". Special Papers in Palaeontology. 86: 195–239.