''Eocarcharia'' (meaning "dawn shark") is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of
carcharodontosaurid
Carcharodontosauridae (carcharodontosaurids; from the Greek καρχαροδοντόσαυρος, ''carcharodontósauros'': "shark-toothed lizards") is a group of carnivorous theropod dinosaurs. In 1931, Ernst Stromer named Carcharodontosauridae ...
theropod
Theropoda (; ), whose members are known as theropods, is a dinosaur clade that is characterized by hollow bones and three toes and claws on each limb. Theropods are generally classed as a group of saurischian dinosaurs. They were ancestrally c ...
dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...
from the
Early Cretaceous
The Early Cretaceous ( geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous (chronostratigraphic name), is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 145 Ma to 100.5 Ma.
Geology
Pro ...
Elrhaz Formation
The Elrhaz Formation is a geological formation in Niger, central Africa.
Its strata date back to the Early Cretaceous, about 125 to 112 million years ago. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation, alongsi ...
that lived in the
Sahara
, photo = Sahara real color.jpg
, photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972
, map =
, map_image =
, location =
, country =
, country1 =
, ...
112 million years ago, in what today is the country of
Niger
)
, official_languages =
, languages_type = National languages[University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...](_blank)
paleontologist
Paul Sereno
Paul Callistus Sereno (born October 11, 1957) is a professor of paleontology at the University of Chicago and a National Geographic "explorer-in-residence" who has discovered several new dinosaur species on several continents, including at sites ...
. The type and only species is ''Eocarcharia dinops''.
Its teeth were shaped like blades and were used for disabling live prey and ripping apart body parts. ''Eocarcharia''
’s brow is swollen into a massive band of bone, giving it a menacing glare
New Meat-eating Dinosaur Duo from Sahara Unveiled
Newswise, Retrieved on September 21, 2008. (leading to the specific name ''dinops'' or "fierce-eyed"). It may have reached lengths of .[
]
Paleoecology
In the Elrhaz Formation, dinosaurs that lived with ''Eocarcharia'' include theropods '' Kryptops palaios'' and '' Suchomimus tenerensis'', sauropod
Sauropoda (), whose members are known as sauropods (; from '' sauro-'' + '' -pod'', 'lizard-footed'), is a clade of saurischian ('lizard-hipped') dinosaurs. Sauropods had very long necks, long tails, small heads (relative to the rest of their bo ...
'' Nigersaurus taqueti'', and ornithopod
Ornithopoda () is a clade of ornithischian dinosaurs, called ornithopods (), that started out as small, bipedal running grazers and grew in size and numbers until they became one of the most successful groups of herbivores in the Cretaceous wo ...
s ''Ouranosaurus nigeriensis
''Ouranosaurus'' is a genus of herbivorous basal hadrosauriform dinosaur that lived during the Aptian stage of the Early Cretaceous of modern-day Niger and Cameroon. ''Ouranosaurus'' measured about long. Two rather complete fossils were found ...
'', ''Lurdusaurus arenatus
''Lurdusaurus'' ("heavy lizard") is a genus of massive and unusually shaped iguanodont dinosaur from the Elrhaz Formation in Niger. It contains one species, ''L. arenatus''. The formation dates to the Early Cretaceous, roughly 112 million years ...
'', and '' Elrhazosaurus nigeriensis''.[
]
References
External links
Project Exploration
BBC's The World GeoQuiz 15 February 2008
Carcharodontosaurids
Early Cretaceous dinosaurs of Africa
Aptian life
Cretaceous Niger
Fossils of Niger
Fossil taxa described in 2008
Taxa named by Paul Sereno
{{theropod-stub