Dinosaurs / Cretaceous / Carnotaurus
Carnotaurus
Cretaceous kar-noh-TAW-rus, “meat-eating bull”
Carnotaurus is one of the most distinctive carnivorous dinosaurs ever discovered, roaming Patagonia during the Late Cretaceous around 71 million years ago. Reaching up to eight or nine metres in length, it was an apex abelisaurid predator easily identified by a pair of thick, bull-like horns above its eyes. Its skull was short and deep, suited for rapid bites rather than prolonged crushing force. Carnotaurus had astonishingly reduced forelimbs, possessing tiny forearms with immovable fingers that served no apparent predatory function. Conversely, its massive caudal muscles and long leg bones indicate it was an exceptionally fast sprinter in straight lines. Spectacular skin impressions across its body show a scaly mosaic covering its hide.
Extensive skin impressions reveal a pebbled hide studded with large, non-overlapping conical scales, showing no trace of feathers.
Where and when
Carnotaurus lived in the Late Cretaceous, from 72 to 69.9 million years ago (Campanian-Maastrichtian age). Its remains come from Argentina, in the La Colonia Formation.
The numbers
Length 8.3 m (estimates run from 7.5 to 9 m). Mass about 1.7 t. Hip height about 2.8 m. That is 4.9 human-lengths, or 0.74 of a double-decker bus. These are estimates from near-complete skeleton; fields marked estimated by the site are length, mass, hip height.