Carmelopodus

† Carmelopodus is a carnivorous theropod ichnogenus from the Cretaceous of the United States. Known from three-toed carnivore footprints with sharp, well-defined digit impressions, these tracks indicate a medium-to-large theropod predator moving through coastal or riverine mudflats. Ichnogenera like Carmelopodus provide critical data on theropod diversity and locomotion at localities where body fossils are absent, complementing the skeletal record of Cretaceous carnivorous dinosaurs from North America.

Diet & Feeding

Carnivore

Carmelopodus 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

Carmelopodus 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.