have occurred into North America. All known carcharodontosaurids lived during the early-to-middle Cretaceous Period. The following cladogram after Novas et al., 2013, shows the placement of Acrocanthosaurus within Carcharodontosauridae. In 2011, Oliver Rauhut named a new genus of theropod dinosaur from the Jurassic aged Tendaguru Formation in Tanzania named Veterupristisaurus and found it to be a sister taxon to Acrocanthosaurus, further supporting its position as a carcharodontosaurid. Paleobiology Growth and longevity From the bone features of the holotype OMNH 10146 and NCSM 14345, it is estimated that Acrocanthosaurus required at least 12 years to fully grow. This number may have been much higher because in the process of bones remodeling and the growth of the medullary cavity, some Harris lines were lost. If accounting for these lines, Acrocanthosaurus needed 18–24 years to be mature. Bite force The bite force of Acrocanthosaurus was studied and compared with that of 33 other dinosaurs by Sakamoto et al. (2022). According to the results, its bite force at the anterior part of the jaws was 8,266 newtons, while the posterior bite force was estimated to be 16,894 newtons. Forelimb function Like those of most other non-avian theropods, Acrocanthosaurus forelimbs did not make contact with the ground and were not used for locomotion; instead, they served a predatory function. The discovery of a complete forelimb (NCSM 14345) allowed the first analysis of the function and range of motion of the forelimb in Acrocanthosaurus. The study examined the bone surfaces which would have articulated with other bones to determine how far the joints could move without dislocating. In many of the joints, the bones did not fit together exactly, indicating the presence of a considerable amount of cartilage in the joints, as is seen in many living archosaurs. Among other findings, the study suggested that, in a resting position, the forelimbs would have hung from the shoulders with the humerus angled backward slightly, the elbow bent, and the claws facing medially (inwards). The shoulder of Acrocanthosaurus was limited in its range of motion compared to that of humans. The arm could not swing in a complete circle, but could retract (swing backward) 109° from the vertical, so that the humerus could actually be angled slightly upwards. Protraction (swinging forward) was limited to only 24° past the vertical. The arm was unable to reach a vertical position when adducting (swinging downwards) but could abduct (swing upwards) to