Eocarcharia

Say it like this: “EE-o-car-CAR-ee-uh”

Eocarcharia dinops

Eocarcharia ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Early Cretaceous. Bones have been found in Niger.

Quiz me on Eocarcharia

When: Early Cretaceous (Aptian · Albian) · roughly 121.4 to 100.5 million years ago
Named in: 2008 · Sereno, P. C.; Brusatte, S. L.
Hip height: 1.7 m · 6 ft
Length: 6–8 m · 20–26 ft
Weight: 750 kg · 1,653 lb
Found in: Niger · Elrhaz
Food and walking: Carnivore · Two legs
Kind: sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
Family branch: Carcharodontosauridae

The story in short

In 2008, P. C. Sereno and S. L. Brusatte published the name Eocarcharia. The name means “dawn shark.”

Fossils referred to Eocarcharia date to the Early Cretaceous (Aptian · Albian), roughly 121.4 to 100.5 million years ago. Finds come from Niger, including the Elrhaz Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.

Published estimates put Eocarcharia at a length near 6–8 m, hips about 1.7 m high, and a body mass around 750 kg.

On the family tree it sits in Carcharodontosauridae, among the theropod dinosaurs.

Close relatives

Acrocanthosaurus

Acrocanthosaurus atokensis

Early Cretaceous (Aptian · Albian) · roughly 121.4 to 100.5 million years ago

Concavenator

Concavenator corcovatus

Early Cretaceous (Barremian) · roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago

Kelmayisaurus

Kelmayisaurus petrolicus

Early Cretaceous (Barremian · Aptian) · roughly 125.8 to 113.2 million years ago