Concavenator

MEANING: Cucnca humped hunter

PERIOD: Early Cretaceous

CONTINENT: Europe

Concavenator is a basal carcharodontosaur with several unique features, including two tall vertebrae on its back forming a tall but narrow crest, possibly supporting a hump. It also had structures resembling quill knobs on each forearm, thought to anchor simple quill-like structures. Concavenator grew up to 6 m in length and about 400 kg in body mass.

Concavenator is from the Early Cretaceous. The Cretaceous is the third and final geological period of the Mesozoic Era, with the Early Cretaceous making up roughly the first half, lasting from about 143 to 100 million years ago. The poles were ice-free, due to the relatively warm climate, and forests extended into high latitudes. The continued breakup of the continents created new coastlines and isolated landmasses, influencing the evolution of distinct dinosaur faunas.

It was a time of transition, as many groups of animals and plants began to take on more modern forms while others declined or disappeared. Pterosaurs continued to thrive, though early birds were becoming more diverse and widespread. Mammals remained small but adapted to a variety of ecological niches. In the oceans, ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs were common, and early mosasaurs began to appear.

Dinosaurs remained the dominant land animals, with groups like iguanodontians, spinosaurids, and carcharodontosaurids rising to prominence. While sauropods declined in some regions, they remained abundant in the Southern Hemisphere. The first true ceratopsians appeared, and ankylosaurs replaced stegosaurs in their niche. Dromaeosaurs and other small theropods diversified. During this time, the first flowering plants evolved, gradually changing global ecosystems by providing new food sources for herbivores.

Concavenator is a carcharodontosaur. Carcharodontosauria is a group of large-bodied theropod dinosaurs known for their massive size, elongated skulls, and blade-like, serrated teeth. These predators appeared in the Late Jurassic and thrived through most of the Cretaceous period, often serving as apex predators in their ecosystems. Their skulls were typically long and low, housing powerful jaws lined with sharp, recurved teeth suited for slicing through flesh. They are sometimes thought to have been adapted specifically for hunting sauropods.

Carcharodontosaurs were widely distributed across what are now South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. Their success across such a broad geographic range suggests they were highly adaptable hunters. By the Late Cretaceous, however, their diversity declined, and they eventually vanished from the fossil record, likely displaced by other emerging theropod lineages. Nonetheless, they represent an important chapter in the history of predatory dinosaurs, illustrating the rise and fall of a group that once dominated much of the prehistoric world.