page_title: Dinosaur senses
section_title: Carcharodontosaurus saharicus
hierarchical_section_title: Dinosaur senses / Hearing and balance / Carcharodontosaurus saharicus
caption_attribution_description: Allosaurus skull, Oklahoma Museum of Natural History.
context_page_description: Dinosaur senses are difficult subjects of study for paleontologists since soft tissue anatomy rarely fossilizes.
context_section_description: The three semicircular canals of the inner ear of Carcharodontosaurus saharicus, when viewed from the side, had a subtriangular outline. This subtriangular inner ear configuration is present in Allosaurus, lizards, turtles, but not in birds. The semi-"circular" canals themselves were actually very linear, which explains the pointed silhouette. In life, the floccular lobe of the brain would have projected into the area surrounded by the semicircular canals, just like in other non-avian theropods, birds, and pterosaurs.
  The orientation of the lagena of C. saharicus resembles the condition in crocodilians and some birds. The extent of its perilymphatic duct resembled those of Varanus, crocodilians, and birds. The crista which would have supported the secondary tympanic membrane in C. saharicus was either absent, or not preserved.
  This contrasts with Troodon, whose crista were at least partially bony. The metotic strut of C. saharicus is smaller and located more closely to the midline of the animal's body than in non-avian maniraptors like Dromaeosaurus and Troodon, as well as primitive birds like Archaeopteryx and Hesperornis.
caption: Allosaurus fragilis skull.
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