Carnotaurus

Description

Carnotaurus is a genus of large theropoddinosaur that lived in South America during the Late Cretaceous period, between about 72 and 69.9 million years ago.

Carnotaurus was a lightly built, bipedal predator, measuring 8 to 9 m (26.2 to 29.5 ft) in length and weighing at least 1.35 metric tons (1.33 long tons; 1.49 short tons). As a theropod, Carnotaurus was highly specialized and distinctive. It had thick horns above the eyes, a feature unseen in all other carnivorous dinosaurs, and a very deep skull sitting on a muscular neck. Carnotaurus was further characterized by small, vestigial forelimbs and long and slender hindlimbs. The skeleton is preserved with extensive skin impressions, showing a mosaic of small, non-overlapping scales measuring approximately 5 mm in diameter. The mosaic was interrupted by large bumps that lined the sides of the animal, and there are no hints of feathers.

More Information

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Fact file

• Pronounced: Kar-noh-TORE-us
• Meaning of name: carnivorous bull
• Length: 7.6m
• Diet: carnivorous
• When it lived: Late Cretaceous
  (70 million years ago)
• Found in: Argentina

Taxonomic details

• Taxonomy: Dinosauria, Saurischia, Theropoda, Neotherapoda, Ceratosauria, Neoceratosauria, Abelisauridae, Carnotaurus
• Named by: Bonaparte (1985)
• Type species: sastrei