Tameryraptor ("thief from the beloved land") is an extinct genus of large carcharodontosaurid dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian age) in what is now Egypt. It is known from a partial skeleton collected in rock layers from the Bahariya Formation by crews of German paleontologist Ernst Stromer in 1914, comprising an incomplete skull, vertebrae, and several other postcranial elements. Stromer described the specimen in 1931, referring it to the previously named Megalosaurus saharicus on the basis of its tooth anatomy, and placing it in a new genus, Carcharodontosaurus. In 1944, it was destroyed in the Bombing of Munich during the Second World War. The specimen remained assigned to Carcharodontosaurus saharicus until a review of photographs of the fossil material in 2025 allowed researchers around German paleontologist Maximilian Kellermann to recognize the material as belonging to a distinct taxon known from a single species, Tameryraptor markgrafi. Tameryraptor is one of many large carcharodontosaurid dinosaurs. It is the only known African carcharodontosaurids found that preserved a partial postcranial skeleton. Like its relatives, it had a large, lightly-built skull, but was distinct in that it bore a distinctive horn-like protuberance on its snout. Its vertebrae were sturdy but contain depressions where air sacs would be present. Several other gigantic theropods are known from Egypt during this period, including the spinosaurid Spinosaurus, the controversial Bahariasaurus, and unnamed large abelisaurids.
Discovery and naming
In early April 1914, theropod fossils were found in marls near Ain Gedid, Egypt by Austro-Hungarian paleontologist Richard Markgraf. The sediments from this region derive from the Cenomanian-aged Bahariya Formation, one of many Cretaceous-aged sites of North Africa. Markgraf extensively collected dinosaur skeletons in Bahariya for his employer, German paleontologist Ernst Stromer of the Paläontologisches Museum München (Bavarian State Collection of Paleontology). This Egyptian skeleton (specimen number SNSB-BSPG 1922 X 46) consisted of several elements, most notably a partial skull which included the left and right nasals, much of the maxillae (upper jaw bones), an incomplete braincase, and teeth. As for the postcranial skeleton, three cervical (neck) vertebrae, one caudal (tail) vertebra, two chevrons, a partial pelvis, the proximal portion of a dorsal rib, both femora (thigh bones), and the left fibula (shin bone) were found. Due to political tensions between the German Empire and then British-owned Egypt, this specimen took years to get to Germany. It was not until 1922 that the bones were transported to Munich, where Stromer described them in 1931. Stromer recognized that the teeth of this specimen matched the characteristic dentition of species "Megalosaurus" saharicus, originally described in 1925 by the French paleontologists Charles Depéret and Justin Savornin. Noting these unique features, Stromer found it necessary to erect a new genus for this species, Carcharodontosaurus. World War II broke out in 1939, leading to SNSB-BSPG 1922 X 46 and other Bahariya material to be destroyed during a British bombing raid on Munich during the night of 24/25 April 1944. A braincase endocast was made that survived the war, making it the only remaining relic of the specimen. The 1990s witnessed a resurgence in carcharodontosaurid research and discoveries, with the description of a novel Carcharodontosaurus saharicus specimen from Morocco in 1996. This specimen was then designated the neotype of the species in 2007, though SNSB-BSPG 1922 X 46 was still classified as belonging to the species. The attribution of this skeleton to C. saharicus was discussed by Italian paleontologists Alessandro Chiarenza and Andrea Cau in a 2016 study. Although they recognized them as similar, they noted that the Stromer's specimen and the Moroccan neotype differed in some cranial features. In 2025, Maximilian Kellermann, Elena Cuesta, and Oliver W. M. Rauhut described Tameryraptor markgrafi as a new genus and species of carcharodontosaurid theropods based on these fossil remains. Since the fossil remains were destroyed, they established their description based on the remaining endocast, two previously unlisted archival photographs, and Stromer's initial drawings of the fossil material. The generic name, Tameryraptor, combines Ta-mery, an informal ancient Egyptian name for the country meaning 'beloved land', with the Latin word raptor, meaning 'thief'. The specific name honors Markgraf, the discoverer of the remains.
Description
In 1931, Stromer estimated that the Tameryraptor holotype represented an individual similar in size to the tyrannosaurid Gorgosaurus, which has been estimated at 8–9 metres (26–30 ft) in length.
Skull and dentition
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