2.48" Carcharodontosaurid Dinosaur (Eocarcharia?) Foot Claw - Niger

Carcharodontosaurid Dinosaur (Eocarcharia?) Foot Claw - Niger #262227

This is a 2.48" long (longest measurement), fossil carcharodontosaurid (Eocarcharia dinops gen. et sp. nov.?) pedal ungual (foot claw), collected from the Elrhaz Formation of Niger. It is missing its tip and has some natural fractures throughout. The ungual has undergone no restoration.

The general shape and features of the claw indicate that it is from a carcharodontosaurid, of which the only documented carcharodontosaurid from the Erlhaz Formation is Eocarcharia dinops gen. et sp. nov.. Due to the lack of documented postcranial material of Eocarcharia dinops, we have left the species as uncertain.

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Eocarcharia dinops gen. et sp. nov. was a carcharodontosaurid theropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous-aged Elrhaz Formation (125-112 million years) of Niger. Several documented skull elements including blade-like teeth have been found and studied following an expedition led by the University of Chicago paleontologist Paul Sereno. Based on the size of the cranial elements and their mature adult features, it likely reached lengths of approximately 6-8 meters (20-26 feet) long.

Eocarcharia, meaning "dawn shark", is in reference to its position in the “shark−toothed” theropod
clade, Carcharodontosauridae, and dinops, meaning "fierce−eyed" in reference to its massive ornamented brow above the orbit that would have gave it a menacing glare.