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=== Resurgent discoveries, ''C. iguidensis'', and confusion with spinosaurids === Few discoveries of ''Carcharodontosaurus'' attributed material were made until 1995 when [[United States|American]] paleontologist [[Paul Sereno]] found an incomplete skull during an expedition embarked on by the [[University of Chicago]]. This skull (SGM-Din 1) was found in the Cenomanian-aged rocks of the [[Kem Kem Group|Lower Douira Formation, Kem Kem Beds]], in [[Errachidia Province|Errachidia]], southeastern Morocco. The specimen was taken to the University of Chicago and was first described in 1996 by Sereno and colleagues in ''[[Science (journal)|Science]]''.<ref name=":5"/> In 2007, SGM-Din 1 was officially designated as the [[neotype]] of ''C. saharicus'' due to the loss of other specimens and the similar age and geographic location to previously noted material.<ref name=":6"/> The taxonomy of ''Carcharodontosaurus'' was discussed by Chiarenza and Cau (2016),<ref name="ChiarenzaandCau2016">{{Cite journal |last1=Chiarenza |first1=Alfio Alessandro |last2=Cau |first2=Andrea |date=February 29, 2016 |title=A large abelisaurid (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from Morocco and comments on the Cenomanian theropods from North Africa |journal=PeerJ |volume=4 |pages=e1754 |doi=10.7717/peerj.1754 |pmc=4782726 |pmid=26966675 |doi-access=free }}</ref> who suggested that the neotype of ''C. saharicus'' was similar but distinct from the skeleton described by Stromer in the morphology of the maxillary interdental plates. However, paleontologist [[Mickey Mortimer]] put forward that the suggested difference between the two specimens was actually due to damage to the neotype.<ref name="Mortimer 2023 Carnosauria">{{Cite web |last=Mortimer |first=Mickey |date=2023 |title=Carnosauria |url=https://theropoddatabase.com/Carnosauria.htm#Carcharodontosaurussaharicus |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528042437/https://theropoddatabase.com/Carnosauria.htm |archive-date=May 28, 2023 |access-date=June 6, 2023 |website=The Theropod Database}}</ref> Because the neotype designation was in accordance with the [[ICZN]] article 75.3 and 75.4, the describers of ''Tameryraptor'' agreed that SGM-Din 1 is a valid neotype.<ref name=Tameryraptor>{{cite journal |last1=Kellermann |first1=Maximilian |last2=Cuesta |first2=Elena |last3=Rauhut |first3=Oliver W. M. |title=Re-evaluation of the Bahariya Formation carcharodontosaurid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) and its implications for allosauroid phylogeny |journal=PLOS ONE |date=January 14, 2025 |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=e0311096 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0311096|doi-access=free |pmid=39808629 |pmc=11731741 |bibcode=2025PLoSO..2011096K }}</ref> Several other fossils of ''C. saharicus'' have been unearthed from the Kem Kem Beds, such as [[Mandible|dentary]] fragments, a [[Cervical vertebrae|cervical vertebra]], and many teeth.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Russell |first=Dale |date=1996 |title=Isolated Dinosaur bones from the Middle Cretaceous of the Tafilalt, Morocco |url=https://sciencepress.mnhn.fr/fr/periodiques/bulletin-du-museum-national-d-histoire-naturelle-4eme-serie-section-c-sciences-de-la-terre-paleontologie-geologie-mineralogie/18/2-3/os-isoles-de-dinosaures-du-cretace-moyen-du-tafilalt-maroc |journal=Bulletin du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, 4ème série – section C – Sciences de la Terre, Paléontologie, Géologie, Minéralogie |language=fr |volume=18 |issue=2–3}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Gheerbrant |first1=Emmanuel |last2=Cappetta |first2=Henri |last3=Broin |first3=F. de Lapparent de |last4=Rage |first4=Jean Claude |last5=Tabuce |first5=Rodolphe |title=Mémoires de la société géologique de France |date=2017 |publisher=Société Géologique de France |isbn=978-2-85363-099-3 |pages=485–525 |chapter-url=https://mnhn.hal.science/mnhn-02264868/ |language=fr |chapter=Les faunes de vertébrés marins et terrestres du Paléogène du Bassin d'Ouarzazate, Maroc }}</ref>{{sfn|Ibrahim|Sereno|Varricchio|Martill|2020|p=167}} Sereno et al. also referred a multitude of [[cervical vertebrae]] described as the [[Spinosauridae|spinosaurids]] ''[[Sigilmassasaurus]]'' and "''Spinosaurus'' B" to ''C. saharicus'' reasoning that stout cervicals would be needed to carry the skulls of carcharodontosaurids.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":5" /> Later research proved otherwise, with the vertebrae being placed in ''[[Spinosaurus aegyptiacus]]'' by Ibrahim et al. (2020).{{sfn|Ibrahim|Sereno|Varricchio|Martill|2020|p=169}} French paleontologist [[René Lavocat]] was the first to note the possible presence of ''Carcharodontosaurus'' in Morocco as early as 1954.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lavocat |first=Rene |date=1954 |title=Sur les dinosauriens du Continental Intercalaire des Kem-Kem de la Daoura |journal=Comptes Rendus 19th International Geological Congress |volume=1952 |pages=65–68}}</ref> In 2007, a novel species of ''Carcharodontosaurus, C. iguidensis,'' was dubbed by paleontologists [[Stephen L. Brusatte|Steve Brusatte]] and Paul Sereno. Fossils of ''C. iguidensis'' had been uncovered during an expedition to the [[Echkar Formation]] of Iguidi, Niger, a partial [[maxilla]] (MNN IGU2) being designated the holotype. The species name ''iguidensis'' is after Iguidi, where the fossils were unearthed. Several other remains such as a braincase, a lacrimal, a dentary, a cervical vertebra, and a collection of teeth were referred to ''C. iguidensis'' based on size and supposed similarities to other ''Carcharodontosaurus'' bones.<ref name=":6"/> Chiarenza and Cau (2016) identified the referred material of ''C. iguidensis'' as belonging to ''Sigilmassasaurus'' (later referred to ''Spinosaurus'' sp.)<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sereno |first1=Paul C. |last2=Myhrvold |first2=Nathan |last3=Henderson |first3=Donald M. |last4=Fish |first4=Frank E. |last5=Vidal |first5=Daniel |last6=Baumgart |first6=Stephanie L. |last7=Keillor |first7=Tyler M. |last8=Formoso |first8=Kiersten K. |last9=Conroy |first9=Lauren L. |date=November 30, 2022 |editor-last=Zhu |editor-first=Min |editor2-last=Rutz |editor2-first=Christian |editor3-last=Zhu |editor3-first=Min |editor4-last=Holtz |editor4-first=Thomas R. |editor5-last=Hone |editor5-first=David |title=''Spinosaurus'' is not an aquatic dinosaur |journal=eLife |volume=11 |pages=e80092 |doi=10.7554/eLife.80092 |pmc=9711522 |pmid=36448670 |doi-access=free }}</ref> and a non-[[Carcharodontosaurinae|carcharodontosaurine]], and therefore chose to limit ''C. iguidensis'' to the holotype pending future research.<ref name="ChiarenzaandCau2016" /> Another carcharodontosaurid from the Kem Kem Beds, ''[[Sauroniops|Sauroniops pachytholus]]'', was dubbed in 2012 based on a single [[Frontal lobe|frontal]],<ref name=":10">{{Cite journal |last1=Cau |first1=Andrea |last2=Dalla Vecchia |first2=Fabio M. |last3=Fabbri |first3=Matteo |date=March 1, 2013 |title=A thick-skulled theropod (Dinosauria, Saurischia) from the Upper Cretaceous of Morocco with implications for carcharodontosaurid cranial evolution |journal=Cretaceous Research |volume=40 |pages=251–260 |doi=10.1016/j.cretres.2012.09.002 |bibcode=2013CrRes..40..251C }}</ref> and has been proposed to be synonymous with ''C. saharicus''.{{sfn|Ibrahim|Sereno|Varricchio|Martill|2020|p=171}} This proposed synonymy has been disputed by others.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Candeiro |first1=Carlos Roberto dos Anjos |last2=Brusatte |first2=Stephen Louis |last3=Vidal |first3=Luciano |last4=Pereira |first4=Paulo Victor Luiz Gomes da Costa |date=July 26, 2018 |title=Paleobiogeographic evolution and distribution of Carcharodontosauridae (Dinosauria, Theropoda) during the middle Cretaceous of North Africa |journal=Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia |volume=58 |pages=e20185829 |doi=10.11606/1807-0205/2018.58.29 |s2cid=53353652 |hdl=20.500.11820/c4ca0a5c-4f8e-4136-8355-8bd32d6ea544 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref name="ChiarenzaandCau2016" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Paterna |first1=Alessandro |last2=Cau |first2=Andrea |date=October 11, 2022 |title=New giant theropod material from the Kem Kem Compound Assemblage (Morocco) with implications on the diversity of the mid-Cretaceous carcharodontosaurids from North Africa |journal=Historical Biology |volume=35 |issue=11 |pages=2036–2044 |doi=10.1080/08912963.2022.2131406 |s2cid=252856791 }}</ref><ref name="Cau&Paterna25" /> The South American genus ''[[Giganotosaurus]]'' was synonymized with ''Carcharodontosaurus'' by Figueiredo (1998)<ref>{{Cite news |last=Figueiredo |date=1998 |title=Os dinossáurios carnívoros: A sua descrição e modo de vida |pages=1–4 |work=Centro Portugues de Geo-historia e Prehistoria}}</ref> and [[Gregory S. Paul|Paul]] (2010),<ref name="G.S.Paul2016">{{Cite book |last=Paul |first=Gregory S. |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/985402380 |title=The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-78684-190-2 |pages=103–104 |oclc=985402380 |author-link=Gregory S. Paul}}</ref> but no authors have since followed this assessment.<ref name=":17" /><ref name=":6" /> ==== Other referred specimens ==== {{location map+|Africa|relief=yes|width=300|float=|caption=Fossil localities of ''Carcharodontosaurus'' Legend: [[File:Steel pog.svg|8px]] ''C. saharicus'' [[File:Red pog.svg|8px]] ''C. iguidensis'' [[File:Orange_pog.svg|8px]] Possible specimens|places={{location map~ | Africa| label =Continental Interclaire Formation | position = none | lat=27.0333| long=1.0833| mark= Steel pog.svg}} {{location map~ | Africa| label =Kem Kem Beds | position = none | lat=31.5317| long=-4.6656| mark= Steel pog.svg}} {{location map~ | Africa| label =Douiret Formation | position = none | lat=32.691| long= 10.261| mark= Steel pog.svg}} {{location map~ | Africa| label =Continental Interclaire Formation (type locality) | position = none | lat=29.25| long= 0.25| mark= Steel pog.svg}} {{location map~ | Africa| label =Continental Interclaire Formation | position = none | lat=28.369| long= 9.381| mark= Steel pog.svg}} {{location map~ | Africa| label =Gara Samani Formation | position = none | lat=32.7022| long= -0.0067| mark= Steel pog.svg}} {{location map~ | Africa| label = Elrhaz Formation | position = none | lat=16.1292| long=10.222| mark= Orange_pog.svg}} {{location map~ | Africa| label = Echkar Formation| position = none | lat=17.9333| long= 5.6167| mark= Red pog.svg}}|alt=Map of sites preserving Carcharodontosaurus.}} * Lapparent (1951, 1960) described several ''Carcharodontosaurus'' teeth from the Continental intercalaire Formation of [[Tataouine Governorate|Guermessa, Tunisia]].<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":16">{{cite journal|last1=Buffetaut|first1=Éric|last2=Ouaja|first2=Mohamed|title=A new specimen of ''Spinosaurus'' (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from the Lower Cretaceous of Tunisia, with remarks on the evolutionary history of the Spinosauridae|journal=Bulletin de la Société géologique de France|year=2002|volume=173|issue=5|pages=415–421|doi=10.2113/173.5.415|s2cid=53519187|url=https://doc.rero.ch/record/14728/files/PAL_E1854.pdf}}</ref> * A [[postorbital bone]] and several postcranial remains assigned to ''Carcharodontosaurus'' were found in the [[Elrhaz Formation]] of northern Niger. Taquet (1976) noted that the postorbital was similar to that of ''Acrocanthosaurus,'' a relative of ''Carcharodontosaurus'',{{sfn|Taquet|1976|p=53}} while the postcranial fossils could belong to other theropods.<ref name="Mortimer 2023 Carnosauria"/><ref name="Tameryraptor" /> * Two braincase fragments, 137 teeth, two caudal vertebrae, and a manual phalanx from the Echkar Formation were referred to as ''Carcharodontosaurus'' by Lapparent (1960).<ref name=":2" /> A pedal phalanx had also been described as ''Carcharodontosaurus'' but it likely is from a spinosaurid instead.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ibrahim |first1=Nizar |last2=Sereno |first2=Paul C. |last3=Dal Sasso |first3=Cristiano |last4=Maganuco |first4=Simone |last5=Fabbri |first5=Matteo |last6=Martill |first6=David M. |last7=Zouhri |first7=Samir |last8=Myhrvold |first8=Nathan |last9=Iurino |first9=Dawid A. |date=September 26, 2014 |title=Semiaquatic adaptations in a giant predatory dinosaur |journal=Science |volume=345 |issue=6204 |pages=1613–1616 |doi=10.1126/science.1258750 |pmid=25213375 |bibcode=2014Sci...345.1613I |s2cid=34421257 |doi-access=free }}</ref> * Many vertebrae, including two associated dorsals, were found in the [[Early Cretaceous]] strata of the [[Irhazer Shale|Irhazer Group]] of [[Agadez Region|Agadez]], Niger. Lapparent mentioned these fossils as ''C. saharicus'' in 1960,<ref name=":2" /> though they may belong to other theropod genera.<ref name="Mortimer 2023 Carnosauria"/> * Caudal vertebrae from the Tefidet and teeth from Akarazeras sites of the Continental intercalaire Formation of Agadez, Niger were recorded by Lapparent (1960)<ref name=":2" /> and Taquet (1976) respectively.{{sfn|Taquet|1976|p=53}} The vertebrae could be from other theropods.<ref name="Mortimer 2023 Carnosauria"/> * From an unknown locale in the Continental intercalaire of the Sahara Desert, Lapparent (1960) documented eight vertebrae, a humerus, and a manual phalanx as coming from ''C. saharicus.''<ref name=":2" /> These elements could be from other theropods.<ref name="Mortimer 2023 Carnosauria"/> * Teeth and a caudal vertebra from the [[Chenini Member|Chenini Formation]] of southern [[Tunisia]] have been referred to ''Carcharodontosaurus''.<ref name="Schlüter Schwarzhans 1978">{{cite journal |last1=Schlüter |first1=T |last2=Schwarzhans |first2=W |date=1978 |title=Eine Bonebed-Lagerstätte aus dem Wealden Süd Tunesiens (Umgebung Ksar Krerachfa) |journal=Berliner Geowiss. Abhandlungen A |volume=8 |pages=53–65 }}</ref> However, the caudal vertebra is now labeled Carcharodontosauridae indet.<ref name="Fanti Cau Martinelli Contessi 2014">{{cite journal |last1=Fanti |first1=Federico |last2=Cau |first2=Andrea |last3=Martinelli |first3=Agnese |last4=Contessi |first4=Michela |title=Integrating palaeoecology and morphology in theropod diversity estimation: A case from the Aptian-Albian of Tunisia |journal=Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology |date=September 2014 |volume=410 |pages=39–57 |doi=10.1016/j.palaeo.2014.05.033 |bibcode=2014PPP...410...39F }}</ref> * In 2015, a large [[neural arch]] of a [[Thoracic vertebrae|dorsal vertebra]] from the Kem Kem Beds was informally described as belonging to a new genus and species of [[megaraptora]]n dubbed "Osteoporosia gigantea". This specimen is owned by the head of a Polish theme park chain who described it as belonging to a {{Convert|15|m|ft}} long carnosaur similar to ''[[Mapusaurus]]'' and ''Carcharodontosaurus.''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Singer |date=2015 |title=JuraPark na tropie nowych dinozaurow z Maroka. |url=https://jurapark.pl/jurapark-na-tropie-nowych-dinozaurow-z-maroka/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151206224352/https://jurapark.pl/jurapark-na-tropie-nowych-dinozaurow-z-maroka/ |archive-date=December 6, 2015 |access-date=June 27, 2023 |website=Jurapark}}</ref> However, it was much smaller than proposed and may belong to ''C. saharicus'' or ''Sauroniops'' based on its carcharodontosaurid traits and origin.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Molina-Pérez |first1=Rubén |title=Dinosaur Facts and Figures: The Theropods and Other Dinosauriformes |last2=Larramendi |first2=Asier |last3=Connolly |first3=David |last4=Cruz |first4=Gonzalo Ángel Ramírez |date=2019 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-19059-4 }}{{pn|date=October 2024}}</ref> ==== Previously assigned specimens ==== * A maxillary tooth recovered from the [[Villar del Arzobispo Formation]] of [[Spain]] was referred to ''Carcharodontosaurus'' in 1966.<ref>{{cite journal|language=es|first1=M.|last1=Crusafont-Pairó|first2=R.|last2=Adrover|year=1966|title=El primer representante de la clase mamíferos hallado en el Mesozoico de España|journal=Teruel|volume=35|pages=139–143}}</ref> However, it lacks the traits of carcharodontosaurid teeth and instead is more similar to that of other [[Allosauroidea|allosauroids]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kuhne |first1=W. G. |last2=Crusafont-Pairo |first2=M. |date=1968 |title=Mamíferos del Wealdiense de Uña, cerca de Cuenca |url=https://www.raco.cat/index.php/ActaGeologica/article/download/74602/97493 |journal=Acta Geológica Hispánica |volume=3 |issue=5 |pages=133–134}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gascó |first1=Francisco |last2=Cobos |first2=Alberto |last3=Royo-Torres |first3=Rafael |last4=Mampel |first4=Luis |last5=Alcalá |first5=Luis |date=June 1, 2012 |title=Theropod teeth diversity from the Villar del Arzobispo Formation (Tithonian–Berriasian) at Riodeva (Teruel, Spain) |journal=Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments |volume=92 |issue=2 |pages=273–285 |doi=10.1007/s12549-012-0079-3 |bibcode=2012PdPe...92..273G |s2cid=129930988 }}</ref> * Bond and Bromley (1970) described teeth deriving from the [[Gokwe Formation]] of [[Zimbabwe]] as being similar to ''Carcharodontosaurus'', with Mickey Mortimer assigning them to the genus tentatively.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bond |first1=Geoffrey |last2=Bromley |first2=K. |date=December 1970 |title=Sediments with the remains of dinosaurs near Gokwe, Rhodesia |journal=Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology |volume=8 |issue=4 |pages=313–327 |bibcode=1970PPP.....8..313B |doi=10.1016/0031-0182(70)90104-5 |s2cid=128716797 }}</ref> However, later studies have found them to be indeterminate.<ref>{{Cite journal|author1=Munyikwa, D.|author2=Sampson, S. D.|author3=Rogers, R. R.|author4=Forster, C. A. |author5=Curry, K. A. |author6=Curtice, B. D. |date=1998 |title=Vertebrate palaeontology and geology of the Gokwe Formation, Zimbabwe |journal=Journal of African Earth Sciences |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=142}}</ref> * Teeth from the [[Alcântara Formation|Alcantara Formation]] of [[Brazil]] were placed in ''Carcharodontosaurus'' in 2002,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Medeiros |first1=Manuel |last2=Schultz |first2=Cesar |date=2002 |title=A fauna dinossauriana da 'Laje do Coringa', Cretaceo medio de Nordeste do Brasil |id={{BHL page|57292482}} |journal=Arquivos do Museo Nacional, Rio de Janeiro |volume=60 |issue=3 |pages=155–162 }}</ref> but this has been disputed based on its geographic origin.<ref name="Mortimer 2023 Carnosauria"/> * Partial specimens from [[Wadi Milk Formation]] were originally assigned to ''Carcharodontosaurus'', but were now considered to be indeterminate carcharodontosaurids, some of which are similar to the genus.<ref name="Mortimer 2023 Carnosauria"/> * Fossils from the [[Campanian]] [[Quseir Formation]] of western Egypt have been tentatively assigned to ''Spinosaurus'' and ''Carcharodontosaurus'',<ref name=Churcher1999>{{cite book |last1=Churcher |first1=C. S. |chapter=A note on the Late Cretaceous vertebrate fauna of the Dakhleh Oasis |pages=55–68 |editor1-last=Churcher |editor1-first=C. S. |editor2-last=Mills |editor2-first=Anthony J. |title=Reports from the Survey of the Dakhleh Oasis, Western Desert of Egypt, 1977-1987 |date=1999 |publisher=Oxbow Books |isbn=978-1-900188-49-4 }}</ref> but these specimens were never described in detail and thus classified as [[Theropoda]] indet.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Augustin|first1=F.J.|last2=Hartung|first2=J.|last3=Kampouridis|first3=P.|editor1=Hamimi, Z.|editor2=Khozyem, H.|editor3=Adatte, T.|editor4=Nader, Fadi H.|editor5=Oboh-Ikuenobe, F.|editor6=Zobba, Mohamed K.|editor7=Atfy, Haytham El|year=2023|chapter=Dinosaur Faunas of Egypt—The Terrestrial Late Cretaceous Vertebrate Record|title=The Phanerozoic Geology and Natural Resources of Egypt|pages=253–284|series=Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation|publisher=Springer, Cham|doi=10.1007/978-3-030-95637-0_9|isbn=978-3-030-95636-3}}</ref>
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