Fun Eocarcharia Facts For Kids

Eocarcharia is a Carcharodontosaur genus of theropod dinosaur group that lived in the Elrhaz Formation from the Early Cretaceous. Eocarcharia translates to 'dawn shark.' Eocarcharia dinops might have measured up to 19.7-26.2 ft (6-8 m) in length. This dinosaur lived around 112 million years ago in the Sahara, where the current country Niger is located. Paul Sereno, a paleontologist of the University of Chicago, led an expedition in 2000 and discovered the remains of this dinosaur. The only dinosaur and type species of this genus is Eocarcharia dinops. This specific scientific term translates to 'fierce-eyed,' referring to their swollen brow, one of the distinct features of this species. These dinosaurs had blade-shaped, sharp teeth, which were used for paralyzing their prey before ripping them apart. The Greek term Carcharodontosauridae translates to 'shark-toothed-lizards.' This family has some of the largest land predator species ever discovered. Ernst Stromer named this family in 1931 to classify the newly discovered Carcharodontosaurus saharicus within this family. Paul Sereno gave Carcharodontosauridae a classification of a clade in 1998.

If you enjoy reading these fun facts about the Eocarcharia species, then make sure to check some more facts about the Altispinax and the Variraptor on Kidadl.

How do you pronounce 'Eocarcharia'?

The pronunciation of Eocarcharia is 'E-oh-kar-ka-ree-ah.'

What type of dinosaur was an Eocarcharia?

Eocarcharia (dawn shark) is a genus within the clade Theropoda. This creature was a meat-eater. The only type species of Eocarcharia is Eocarcharia dinops. One of the distinct features, the bony eyebrow that sticks out were probably used during mating rituals. Sereno also said that 'brow-beating may not be far from the truth.'

In which geological period did the Eocarcharia roam the earth?

Eocarcharia dinosaur was from the Elrhaz Formation (Niger) from the Early Cretaceous around 112 million years ago.

When did Eocarcharia become extinct?

Eocarcharia (dawn shark) probably became extinct in the mass extinction event of the Cretaceous-Paleogene period.

Where did Eocarcharia live?

Eocarcharia (dawn shark) lived in the Sahara of what is known as the country Niger today. This area was home to many other bizarre creatures like the sailed back, fish-eating Suchomimus (crocodile mimic), and hyena-looking Kryptops, along with Eocarcharia were the meat-eating trio of their time period.

What was the Eocarcharia's habitat?

Eocarcharia (dawn shark) lived around terrestrial habitats with woodlands.

Who did Eocarcharia live with?

Eocarcharia dinops probably lived in groups and died in groups like all other dinosaurs.

How long did Eocarcharia live?

The average or maximum life expectancy of this species is not yet known.

How did they reproduce?

The reproduction of Eocarcharia dinops is oviparous like all their relatives. However, more about the breeding process and incubation period is not known.

What did Eocarcharia look like?

Eocarcharia dinops is the only type species of Eocarcharia. Eocarcharia dinops dinosaurs were named for their distinct features, swollen bony eyebrows, and blade-shaped teeth. This huge band of bone on their eyebrows gave them a menacing glare. Their sharp teeth were blade-shaped used to paralyzing and ripping their prey apart.

How many bones did an Eocarcharia have?

The exact number of bones in the Eocarcharia dinosaur's skeleton is not known. Only several cranial bones and a single isolated tooth were recovered during the excavation.

How did they communicate?

This dinosaur of Sahara (Niger) might have communicated through calls, songs, and even body language like involving in ritualistic fights using their bony eyebrows.

How big was Eocarcharia?

The size range of these species was around 19.7-26.2 ft (6-8 m) in length. This dinosaur was almost half the length of Spinosaurus.

How fast could an Eocarcharia move?

These Eocarcharians were bipedal species so, they might have been pretty fast.

How much did an Eocarcharia weigh?

The weight of Eocarcharians was around 1,000 lb (453.5 kg). This dinosaur was way smaller and weighed a lot less than Mapusaurus.

What were the male and female names of the species?

No specific name has been given to these male and female theropods.

What would you call a baby Eocarcharia?

There is no specific name assigned to these baby theropods.

What did they eat?

These dinosaurs were carnivores and fed on small dinosaurs. Their preferred dinosaurs species was the plant-eater Nigersaurus.

How aggressive were they?

It is not known how aggressive these species were but it is believed that they were aggressive enough to hunt and rip their prey apart.

Did you know...

Some dinosaurs who lived with Eocarcharia in the Elrhaz Formation are sauropod Nigersaurus taqueti, theropods like Suchomimus tenerensis, and Kryptops palaios, and ornithopods like Lurdusaurus arenatus, Ouranosaurus nigeriensis, and Elrhazosarus nigeriensis.

The term Nigersaurus translates to 'Niger reptile'. These dinosaurs were short-necked and measured up to 30 ft (9 m). Their weight was 4.4 short tons (4 t) maybe the size of the current day elephants. The species Nigersaurus taqueti was named after almost two decades of their discovery (1976) in 1999 in detail by Sereno and his colleagues. These dinosaur fossils were also discovered in Elrhaz Formation. The specific scientific name taqueti honors Philippe Taquet, a French paleontologist who led the expedition.

Many studies on the Carcharodontosaurid found in Argentina indicate that these dinosaurs were slow-growing almost taking 30-40 years to reach sexual maturity. The maximum age recorded or studied at the time of their death was 50 years, which makes these species the oldest non-avian theropod.

It has been suggested that Carcharodontosaurids were even more closely related to abelisaurids than allosaurids. This is because these two clades share similar cranial features but these features have been apparently derived from the two clades' parallel evolution.

Allosauridea is a clade or superfamily within Theropoda consisting of four families, Carcharodontosauridae, Metriacanthosauridae, Neovenatoridae, and Allosauridae. Megalosauridea with this group were the apex predators in their time from the Middle Jurassic to Late Cretaceous Period. Phil Currie and Zhao originally proposed this clade, which was later used by Paul Sereno as an undefined stem-based taxon. A distinctive feature shared by all Allosaurids is the triangle pubic boot.

Why are they called Eocarcharia?

The genus name Eorcacharia translates to dawn shark. The scientific name Eorcacharia dinops translates to 'fierce-eyed dawn shark.'

Eocarcharia vs Daspletosaurus

Eorcacharia lived around 112 million years ago in the Early Cretaceous and Daspletosaurus lived around 79.5-74 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous. Eorcacharia means 'dawn shark' whereas Daspletosaurus means 'frightful lizard.' Also, the type specimen of Daspletosaurus is Daspletosaurus torosus (CMN 8506). Charles Mortram Sternberg discovered Daspletosaurus way back in 1921 near Steveville in Alberta. They were fully described in later years in 1970 by Dale Russell. The specific name of the type species torosus is Latin for 'brawny' or 'muscular.' The only type species of the genus Eorcacharia is Eocarcharia dinops.

Daspletosaurus torosus measured up to 26-30 ft (8-9 m) from their snout to tail whereas Eocarcharia dinops measured up to 19.7-26.2 ft (6-8 m) in length.

Daspletosaurus dinosaurs were known to be at the top of the food chain probably eating some large dinosaurs like Hypacrosaurus (hadrosaur) and Centrasaurus (ceratopsid) while Eocarcharia fed on smaller plant-eaters like Nigersaurus but also known to be top predators back in their day.

A partial skeleton including the shoulder, the skull, all vertebrae from the hip, torso, and neck, the pelvis, a forelimb, a femur, and even the first 11 tail vertebrae of the Daspletosaurus torosus were recovered whereas only an isolated tooth and many cranial bones of Eocarcharia dinops were recovered.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these Harpymimus facts and Edmarka facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Eocarcharia coloring pages.

Main image by TKWTH.

Second image by Nobu Tamura.