Carcharodontosaurus vs Pachycephalosaurus

A detailed side-by-side comparison of Carcharodontosaurus and Pachycephalosaurus, covering size, diet, classification, geologic period, and discovery history.

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Side-by-Side Comparison

Property Carcharodontosaurus Pachycephalosaurus
Scientific Name Carcharodontosaurus saharicus Pachycephalosaurus wyomingensis
Classification Theropoda Pachycephalosauria
Period Cretaceous Early Cretaceous Late
Diet Carnivore Herbivore
Length 12.0 m 4.5 m
Height 3.6 m 1.8 m
Weight 6.2 t 450 kg
Discovery Year 1931 1943
Discovery Location Kem Kem Beds, Morocco Montana, USA
Named By Ernst Stromer Barnum Brown & Erich Schlaikjer
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Size Comparison

Carcharodontosaurus 12.0 m

about as long as 2 cars end-to-end

Pachycephalosaurus 4.5 m

roughly the length of a large SUV

Weight Comparison

Carcharodontosaurus 6.2 t

about the weight of 1.0 elephants

Pachycephalosaurus 450 kg

about 6 adult humans

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Timeline Comparison

Carcharodontosaurus
145.0 Mya Cretaceous Early (Mesozoic) 100.5 Mya
Pachycephalosaurus
100.5 Mya Cretaceous Late (Mesozoic) 66.0 Mya
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Diet Comparison

Carcharodontosaurus

Carnivore

Carcharodontosaurus was a meat-eating predator, hunting other animals for food.

Pachycephalosaurus

Herbivore

Pachycephalosaurus was a plant-eater, feeding on vegetation like ferns, conifers, and cycads.

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Classification Comparison

Carcharodontosaurus

Clade: Saurischia

Group: Theropoda

(Beast feet)

Pachycephalosaurus

Clade: Ornithischia

Group: Pachycephalosauria

(Thick-headed lizards)

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Did You Know?

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Carcharodontosaurus was about 2.7x longer than Pachycephalosaurus.

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Carcharodontosaurus weighed roughly 14x more than Pachycephalosaurus.

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Carcharodontosaurus was a carnivore while Pachycephalosaurus was a herbivore.

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Carcharodontosaurus lived during the Cretaceous Early while Pachycephalosaurus lived during the Cretaceous Late, separated by roughly 0 million years.

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Carcharodontosaurus was discovered 12 years earlier, in 1931.

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Carcharodontosaurus belonged to Theropoda while Pachycephalosaurus belonged to Pachycephalosauria.

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Compare With Other Dinosaurs

Carcharodontosaurus vs Spinosaurus

Carnivore vs Piscivore

Tyrannosaurus Rex vs Carcharodontosaurus

Carnivore vs Carnivore
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Explore These Dinosaurs

Carcharodontosaurus

Carcharodontosaurus saharicus

12.0m long, 3.6m tall, 6.2t · Cretaceous Early

Pachycephalosaurus

Pachycephalosaurus wyomingensis

4.5m long, 1.8m tall, 450.0kg · Cretaceous Late

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