Fun Chenanisaurus Facts For Kids
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Do you love reading about big dinosaurs like the T-rex? Well then, get ready to delve into the interesting world of one of the last dinosaurs to ever exist, the Chenanisaurus.
Found in the phosphate basins of Morocco (Siddi Chennane basin), North Africa (Abdoun basin), and the Indian subcontinent, these dinosaurs existed in the late cretaceous period around 72-61 million years ago until they were wiped out by the Chicxulub asteroid.
Owing to the very high sea levels in the Cretaceous period, most of Morocco was underwater and the marine fossil beds were rich with fossils of this dinosaur.
They were large predators and a holotype of this species was found by Nicholas R Longrich and his team in parts of Morocco, North Africa, and the Indian subcontinent. The fossils found were of the jaw bone, teeth, and dentary of these dinosaurs, from which it was speculated that they had a very large bite force.
It is assumed that they must have been a very large dinosaur. They were named after the Siddi Chennane basin and the Barbary coast where they were first found.
They were one of the last dinosaurs in Africa and were one of the last dinosaurs to roam the Earth before their extinction.
Read further to learn some fun facts about this dinosaur, and do check out our Condorraptor and Velocisaurus facts pages!
Chenanisaurus Interesting Facts
How do you pronounce 'Chenanisaurus'?
Chenanisaurus is pronounced as it is spelled. It can be broken down into three syllables, 'Che-Nani-Saurus'.
What type of dinosaur was a Chenanisaurus?
The Chenanisaurus (Chenanisaurus barbaricus) was an abelisaurid dinosaur that lived in the Cretaceous period. It is one of the only dinosaurs of the family Abelisauridae.
In which geological period did Chenanisaurus roam the earth?
They roamed Earth in the late Cretaceous period or epoch. They walked the earth from 72-61 million years ago, making them one of the last dinosaurs in existence.
When did the Chenanisaurus become extinct?
They became extinct in the late Cretaceous period, around 61 million years ago. It is believed that the last dinosaurs of this family were killed by the Chicxulub asteroid and the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction event. They were one of the last dinosaurs that walked the earth.
Where did the Chenanisaurus live?
The Chenanisaurus barbaricus were abelisaurids that lived on the ancient, super-continent Gondwana. Their fossils were found in Africa (Morocco), South America, and the Indian subcontinent in today's day and age.
What was the Chenanisaurus' habitat?
The Chenanisaurus barbaricus fossil was found in the phosphate basins of Sidi Chennane, Morocco, and parts of the Indian subcontinent. As a result, it was speculated that the Chenanisaurus barbaricus lived along the coastline and in forests close to the coast.
Who did the Chenanisaurus live with?
It is not known if the Chenanisaurus barbaricus was a solitary dinosaur. However, from the behavioral patterns of similar, predatory abelisaurids, it can be assumed that they lived in groups.
How long did a Chenanisaurus live?
The exact lifespan of this dinosaur is not known. This is because the only fossil found consisted of the jaw, isolated teeth, and dentary.
How did they reproduce?
The Chenanisaurus reproduced oviviparously, which means that they gave birth eggs following a gestation period. However, there is not much information known about the litter size or breeding patterns of these dinosaurs.
Chenanisaurus Fun Facts
What did the Chenanisaurus look like?
The Chenanisaurus barbaricus was a large, predatory abelisaurid. It was one of the largest abelisaurids that existed in the Cretaceous period.
It grew to whopping length of 23-26 ft (7-8 m), and was large with short arms, just like the Tyrannosaurus rex. Scientists believe the T-rex and the Chenanisaurus are related.
It was characterized by its high lower jaw and bent dentary. The lower jaw was also heavily built and partially curved downwards. In addition to this, the Chenanisaurus barbaricus had a very wide front jaw.
The mandible had a very large height and the jaw was short with short teeth. In fact, the build of the jaw was considered to be very extreme, leading scientists to conclude that the Chenannisaurus had a very large bite force.
The jaw had 10 teeth and the teeth socketswere rectangular in shape. The front teeth were D-shaped and curved outwards, whereas the back teeth were dagger-shaped and flatter.
How many bones did a Chenanisaurus have?
The exact number of bones that the Chenanisaurus barbaricus had is unknown.
How did they communicate?
It is speculated that these dinosaurs communicated by means of auditory and visual signals. Much like other large predators like the T-rex and the Tarbosaurus, these dinosaurs used loud growls and roars to communicate.
How big were the Chenanisaurus'?
It was one of the largest abelisaurids in existence. They grew up to lengths between 23-26 ft (7-8 m) and were around the same height as a camel.
How fast could a Chenanisaurus move?
The speed at which this dinosaur could move is not known.
How much did a Chenanisaurus weigh?
The exact weight of this dinosaur is not known as the fossil found was just of its jaw bone, teeth, and dentary. From this, palaeontologists were able to speculate that this dinosaur was large, much like the T-rex.
What were the male and female names of the species?
There are no specific names for the males and females of this species. They are simply referred to as a male or female dinosaur.
What would you call a baby Chenanisaurus?
A baby Chenanisaurus barbaricus is referred to as a juvenile.
What did they eat?
The Chenanisaurus barbaricus was a large abelisaurid predator. As a result, they were carnivorous and preyed on smaller dinosaurs, birds, and mammals.
How aggressive were they?
From an analysis of the Chenanisaurus teeth, dentary, and jaw, it was concluded that the Chenanisaurus barbaricus had a very strong bite force and isolated teeth that were used to tear through flesh. As a result, it is speculated that these abelisaurid dinosaurs were active, aggressive predators that hunted other large dinosaurs.
Did you know...
This dinosaur was an abelisaurid that lived in the late Cretaceous time period. They were one of the largest abelisaurid dinosaurs in existence and the Chenanisaurus size shows that they were also one of the last dinosaurs to have walked the earth.
In fact, they existed in the time period of 72-61 million years ago and are believed to be the last dinosaurs in Africa and in the history of the planet.
These dinosaurs were discovered in the phosphate basins of the Abdoun basin, Sidi Chennane, Morocco, North Africa, and the Indian subcontinent. This was considered to be unusual, as marine animals such as prehistoric sharks were usually found in phosphates.
Since it was concluded that these dinosaurs were land animals from their dentary, it was a surprise to scientists that these fossils were found in phosphate basins.
However, it was assumed that this was because many of these dinosaurs were washed away into the sea after their deaths. Some scientists also proposed that these dinosaurs occasionally stepped into the ocean for a swim.
The Tyrannosaurus rex was considered to be a contemporary of this dinosaur. They were believed to have many similar characteristics such as their large size, similar jaw bone, short arms, and predatory nature.
Other abelisaurid fossils discovered in Morocco, North Africa, Madagascar, and India in the latest Cretaceous period also show similar features, suggesting that they have directly evolved from and were related to North American and Asian dinosaurs.
In the late Cretaceous period, Morocco was mostly underwater due to the high sea levels millions of years ago. As a result, many of these fossils were discovered in the phosphates and rocks of Morocco, even though these dinosaurs were land-dwelling.
In fact, these phosphate mines in Morocco are considered to be the most abundant fossil basins in the world, home to a variety of diverse fossils.
Being one of the last dinosaurs in existence, this species survived a major extinction event before eventually being wiped out by the Chicxulub asteroid in the latest Cretaceous epoch. Although the Chicxulub asteroid wiped out the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, and not Africa, Morrocco was extremely close to Mexico in the Cretaceous epoch.
Why are they called Chenanisaurus?
The first fossil of this dinosaur was discovered in the Sidi Chennane mines in Morocco. Due to this, it was named the Chenanisaurus. They were also found towards the Barbary Coast of North Africa and were coined Barbaricus.
Who discovered the Chenanisaurus?
The Chenanisaurus dinosaur was discovered by Nicholas R Longrich and his team. Fossils and remains of these dinosaurs were discovered in the Abdoun basin and Sidi Chennane phosphate mines in Morocco. They were also found in parts of North Africa and the Barbary Coast of Africa.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other creatures from our Bagaceratops facts and Rubeosaurus facts pages.
You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Chenanisaurus coloring pages.
Main image by Paleocolour
Second image by NickLongrich
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