Who was the Top Predator of Cretaceous North Africa?

Carcharadontosaurus.

S. Tenerensis & E. dinops are from the "lower" cretaceous and did not coexist with the rest of theropods listed on that list.

Carcharodontosaurus - Not much to say on this one. 11-13 meters in length, 6 - 8 tons in weight it is, in my opinion, the dominant land carnivore of the time. Made moreover worse for whatever it ate if C. saharicus hunted in packs.

Sigilmassasaurus - Was found synonymous with S. aegyptiacus in Ibrahim et. al 2014.

"...Although hundreds of isolated bones and teeth of S. aegyptiacus are in collections around
the world, a few specimens are more complete and thus have garnered attention.
“Spinosaurus B”. Stromer designated bones found in close association as “Spinosaurus
B” (2), a partial skeleton that was entirely destroyed in WWII. The unusual proportions
of the neotype (reduced pelvis size and short hind limb length compared to the axial 10
column) are also present (and nearly identical) in this specimen (fig. S2), suggesting that
it composed a second associated individual of S. aegyptiacus."

Spinosaurus - Due to new finds, we now know S. aegyptiacus was vastly adapted for semi-aquatic life style. It was, clearly, the dominant predator of its realm with competition from the larger species of crocodilians.

Sauroniops - This is where it gets interesting.

^ that's all we have for this carcharodontosaurid.

Here's something interesting i've found researching this creature..

" Phylogenetic analysis found robust support for placing Sauroniops among the basal carcharodontosaurids and related to Eocarcharia, showed that some of the unusual features of the new theropod were convergently acquired by abelisaurids, and revealed a mosaic pattern in the evolution of the carcharodontosaurid skull table. The frontals of Sauroniops and Carcharodontosaurus, both from the ‘Kem Kem compound assemblage’ of Morocco, show comparable size but differ in the extent of the naso–frontal articulation, the shape and disposition of the prefrontal and lacrimal articulations, the development of dorsal ornamentation and the morphology of the supratemporal fossa. Among carcharodontosaurids, the skull table developed unique configurations among each lineage and appears diagnostic at the species-level. The dome-like frontal in Sauroniops may indicate head-butting behaviour in this taxon or evolved for visual display."

Basing off of Eocarcharia Dinops, we get ~11.6 meters in length, ~4 tons -- in other words the size range of A. atokensis. Based on phylogeny this doesn't suprise me. It was probably only under C. saharicus in terms of dining order.

Deltadromeus - Was a primative ceratosaur that was very likely low on the food chain.

"The poorly known theropod Deltadromeus agilis was first
described as a primitive coelurosaur (Sereno et al. 1996) and
later placed in the Ornithomimosauria (Rauhut 2000, 2003).
However, more recently it has been placed within Ceratosauria
(Carrano & Sampson 2002, 2004; Sereno et al. 2004),
a conclusion supported by features in the limbs and girdles.
Although Deltadromeus was resolved as a noasaurid based
on two synapomorphies (Wilson et al. 2003; Sereno et al.
2004), our analysis does not support this conclusion. Instead,
Deltadromeus is a primitive ceratosaur with possible affinities
to Elaphrosaurus and Spinostropheus; 12 extra steps are
needed to place it within Noasauridae."

Based on its phylogenic positioning in Noasauridae, it's safe to assume this creature was rather minute in overall stature ~6-7 meters, 1,500 lbs. Scaling from Elaphrosaurus and Spinostropheus duplicated these results.

Bahariasaurus - Too fragmentary to really tell at the moment, It's now known to not be synonymous with D. agilis -- something commonly accepted in the early 2000's.

What has been suggested for B. Ingens, is that it be placed within Ornithomimosauridae. But, again, the material is too fragmentary and we don't have the actual fossils to work with. But, if it was an Ornithomimian it was certainly not at the top of its food chain -- rather towards the bottom.

Sources:

The Phylogeny of Ceratosauria(Dinosauria: Theropoda)(Caranno & Sampson 2008)

A thick skulled theropod from the (Dinosauria, Saurischia) from the Upper Cretaceous of Morocco with the implications for Carcharodontosaurid cranial evolution (Cau 2012)

Supplementary materials for semiaquatic adaptations in a giant predatory dinosaur (Ibrahim, Sereno 2014)

LORD OF THE SPINOSAURS - I very much enjoyed the detail and thought you've placed into this topic! Hmm. I would have to say that the two animals that were likely at the top of the food chain you have presented were Carcharodontosaurus and Spinosaurus. I happen to think, based on various data (and information gaps) that Spinosaurus was a savage and terrifying predator that could take what it wanted regardless if it was in the water or taking a stroll on the land! Of course, your theory is just as valid as the one I have presented; the aquatic adaptations evidenced by Spinosaurus could certainly have limited its range as a super predator!

   This was a very fun and interesting topic! Thank you so much for presenting this to us! :)

Tyrannosaurus because 'MURICA!!!!!!!!!!! o.o

Jk, I think it was carcharodontosaurus.

I think he knows those two dino did not corxsist. He stated the top predator of ALL cretaceous.

CARNOSAUR - Wow! I had no idea we had so little material upon which to base our speculations of Sauoniops! The collection of data you presented was extremely interesting to read! :)

TK, he didnt's state that at all.

"As we all know there have been many predators discovered in the “middle Cretaceous” of Northern Africa, in fact it seems we have discovered to many (Stromer’s riddle). Though which one was the top predator? Here is a list of candidates"

otherwise i wouldn't have said anything on that issue

@ SR, much appreciated! t'was a pain in the ass to compile..

And I did not read that. I would have told him about his error first.

sorry bout that.

CARNOSAUR - Hahaha! Well, despite the discomfort it has caused to your posterior, t'is a fine example of well compiled data - and very insightful! :)

Your right. i just looked it up and bit shows me brachiosaurus instead.

Carcharodontosaurus. All the others are too small/fragmentary, with the exception of Spinosaurus, wich was likely mostly aquatic though.

^ *semi aquatic ;)

I still doubt that.

@Carnosaur: I wrote 'mostly acquatic', not 'acquatic'. That's a difference.

Well...

On Land Spinosaurus Or Charcarodontosaurus

In the sea: SPINOSAURUS

Carcharodontosaurus:

41 feet long, 12 feet tall, 6 tonnes/7 tons

Deadly shark teeth, size, powerful arms, bite.

Spinosaurus:

50 feet long, 20 feet tall, 6.6 tonnes/7.5 tons

Bite, arms, Size, esapes to water if needed.

It's debatable whether Deltadromeus agilis is a juvenile Bahariasaurus ingens. Id say the top predator was Carcharodontosaurus saharicus, followed closely by Sauroniops pachytholus.