Carcharodontosauria

† Carcharodontosauria was a clade of large carnivorous theropod dinosaurs that dominated apex predator niches across Gondwana and parts of Laurasia during the Cretaceous. Named for their shark-like serrated teeth, carcharodontosaurians included some of the largest land predators ever, such as Giganotosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus. Early Cretaceous material from Spain documents their presence in Europe, suggesting the clade was more broadly distributed before titanosaurian sauropods and abelisaurids became dominant in Gondwana.

Diet & Feeding

Carnivore

Carcharodontosauria was a meat-eating predator. Carnivorous dinosaurs were active hunters or scavengers, equipped with sharp teeth and claws for catching and consuming prey. They occupied the top of the food chain in their ecosystems.

Time Period

Cretaceous Early Mesozoic Era

Carcharodontosauria lived during the Cretaceous Early period of the Mesozoic Era, approximately 145,0 to 100,5 million years ago.

The Cretaceous saw continued dinosaur evolution with the rise of ornithopods and early ceratopsians. Flowering plants first appeared and began to transform terrestrial ecosystems. Spinosaurus and other large theropods lived during this time.