A Killer Larger Than T-Rex
Carcharodontosaurus
A carnivore larger than T-Rex. A land-based killer estimated to be over 44 feet long with weight estimates reaching between 6.2 and 15.1 metric tons. Living in North Africa 112-90 million years ago. A Carnosaur and a relative to Allosaurus but 4 times bigger.
Imagine an animal that was able to look down at T-Rex. With serrated 8-inch long teeth geared for slicing its prey with the greatest of ease. Animals this big usually need a large hunting area and there is little doubt that Carcharodontosaurus would have needed a very vast space for which to claim and hunt. A number of teeth gouges and scratches on the skulls of this animal match those of the teeth and claws of its own species. This suggests that Carcharodontosaurus was vastly territorial. The claws on the forelimbs of these animals were particularly long and sharp, unlike the famous T-Rex.
"The brain of Carcharodontosaurus exhibits features that hail back to the early archosaurs with similarities being seen in other reptiles such as crocodiles and turtles. The real interesting thing, however, is that the brain layout of Carcharodontosaurus is different to those of birds, and this reveals a growing evolutionary trend in dinosaurs that Carcharodontosaurus was not part of. The smaller brain size of Carcharodontosaurus was probably pre-determined by its archosaurian ancestry as many theropods of its ancestral line also have similar brain sizes meaning that while their bodies grew bigger, the brains stayed the same bringing a halt to further biological development."
This animal also was packing two more weapons that amplified its ability to track and kill its prey. First was a large optic showing that this animal was able to see better than most carnivores or herbivores it encountered. The second was its olfactory system. Carcharodontosaurus would have been able to smell its prey from a mile or more away.
A study by Donald Henderson, the curator of dinosaurs at the Royal Tyrrell Museum suggests that Carcharodontosaurus was able to physically lift animals weighing a maximum of 424 kg (935 lb) in its jaws based on a study of the strength of its jaws, neck, and its center of mass.
Scientists speculate that this animal and the even bigger Spinosaurus very well could have crossed paths. One thing is for certain. This animal was most definitely one of this earths greatest monsters.
