Eocarcharia
Illustration by Todd Marshall.
Stats
Type: Theropod (carcharodontosaurid)
Age: 110 million years old
Length: 25 feet
Height at Hip: 6 feet
Discovery Site: Niger, Africa
Notes
Eocarcharia dinops, or “fierce-eyed dawn shark” was named for its blade-shaped teeth and prominent bony eyebrow. The teeth were designed for disabling live prey and severing body parts. Eocarcharia and its cousins (called carcharodontosaurids) gave rise to the largest predators on southern continents, matching or exceeding Tyrannosaurus in size.
Sereno and team discovered the upper jaw bone and a half-dozen other bones of the skull and teeth. They also discovered vertebrae, limb bones and claws, but until a better skeleton is discovered cannot tell for sure if they belong to Eocarcharia.
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