Carcharodontosauridae

Stromer, 1931 Type genus Carcharodontosaurus

Its genera lived 154.8–89.8 million years ago Late Jurassic–Late Cretaceous

Carcharodontosauridae is a family of giant carnivorous theropod dinosaurs forming a clade within Carnosauria. Its members include some of the largest land predators ever known, among them Acrocanthosaurus, Giganotosaurus, Mapusaurus, and Tyrannotitan, the biggest of which rivaled Tyrannosaurus and Spinosaurus in size, with the heaviest estimated at 8 to 10 metric tons. Together with the spinosaurids, carcharodontosaurids were the dominant large predators of the Early and mid-Cretaceous across Gondwana, and species also occur in North America, Europe, and possibly Asia. Their fossil record spans the Cretaceous from the Barremian to the Turonian, after which they were replaced by smaller abelisaurids in Gondwana and by tyrannosaurids in North America and Asia. Coria and Currie (2006) named a South American subfamily, Giganotosaurinae, for Giganotosaurus and Mapusaurus, which Brusatte and Sereno (2008) replaced with the tribe Giganotosaurini; Carrano and colleagues (2012) found little support for grouping the two genera.

Diagnosis

Large, laterally compressed teeth with pronounced, shark-like serrations
Very large body size, often exceeding 10 meters in length
Prominent ornamentation on the lacrimal and postorbital bones
Pneumatized cranial bones with extensive sinus systems
Elongate, narrow maxilla

Clades within Carcharodontosauridae

Carcharodontosaurinae 6 genera

Genera placed directly in Carcharodontosauridae

Acrocanthosaurus Stovall & Langston, 1950 Aptian–Albian (121.4–100.5 Ma)United States
Concavenator Ortega et al., 2010 Barremian (125.8–121.4 Ma)Spainincertae sedisunder dispute
Eocarcharia Sereno & Brusatte, 2008 Aptian–Albian (121.4–100.5 Ma)Nigerincertae sedisunder dispute
Kelmayisaurus Dong, 1973 Valanginian–Albian (137.1–100.5 Ma)Chinaincertae sedisunder dispute
Lajasvenator Coria et al., 2020 Valanginian (137.1–132.6 Ma)Argentinaincertae sedisunder dispute
Sauroniops Disputed Cau et al., 2012 Cenomanian (100.5–93.9 Ma)Moroccoincertae sedis
Tameryraptor Kellermann et al., 2025 Cenomanian (100.5–93.9 Ma)Egyptincertae sedisunder dispute
Veterupristisaurus Rauhut, 2011 Kimmeridgian (154.8–149.2 Ma)Tanzaniaincertae sedisunder dispute

References

Stromer, E. (1931). Ergebnisse der Forschungsreisen Prof. E. Stromers in den Wüsten Ägyptens. II. Wirbeltier-Reste der Baharîjestufe (unterstes Cenoman). 10. Ein Skelett-Rest von Carcharodontosaurus nov. gen [Results of Prof. E. Stromer's research expeditions in the deserts of Egypt. II. Vertebrate remains of the Baharîje Stage (lowermost Cenomanian). 10. A skeletal remain of Carcharodontosaurus nov. gen.]. Abhandlungen der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften Mathematisch-naturwissenschaftliche Abteilung, Neue Folge 9: 1-23.
Named Carcharodontosaurus and wrote that its peculiarity could justify a family Carcharodontosauridae; later works credit the family to this paper.
stromer1931a
Brusatte, S. L.; Sereno, P. C. (2008). Phylogeny of Allosauroidea (Dinosauria: Theropoda): comparative analysis and resolution. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 6(2): 155-182.
Printed Sereno's revised definition (Carcharodontosaurus saharicus but not Sinraptor dongi, Allosaurus fragilis or Passer domesticus) and erected Carcharodontosaurinae.
brusatte2008b
Coria, R. A.; Currie, P. J. (2006). A new carcharodontosaurid (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of Argentina. Geodiversitas 28(1): 71-118. doi:10.5281/zenodo.5376792
Described Mapusaurus and named the subfamily Giganotosaurinae for it and Giganotosaurus.
coria2006a
Carrano, M. T.; Benson, R. B. J.; Sampson, S. D. (2012). The phylogeny of Tetanurae (Dinosauria: Theropoda). Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 10(2): 211-300. Informa UK Limited. doi:10.1080/14772019.2011.630927
Found little support for a Giganotosaurus plus Mapusaurus clade in a phylogenetic revision of Tetanurae.
carrano2012a