Carnosauria

† Carnosauria was a clade of large theropod dinosaurs that includes Allosaurus, Carcharodontosaurus, Giganotosaurus, and their relatives. Historically used as a wastebasket taxon for all large theropods, modern phylogenetics has restricted it to this specific allosauroid clade. Carnosaurs were characterized by large skulls with blade-like teeth, powerful forelimbs with grasping claws, and bipedal locomotion, and they served as apex predators of Jurassic and Cretaceous ecosystems across multiple continents.

Diet & Feeding

Carnivore

Carnosauria 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 Late Mesozoic Era

Carnosauria lived during the Cretaceous Late period of the Mesozoic Era, approximately 100.5 to 66.0 million years ago.

The final age of dinosaurs, featuring iconic species like Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops, and Velociraptor. Dinosaurs reached their peak diversity before the catastrophic asteroid impact at the Chicxulub crater ended the Mesozoic Era.