Carnotaurus
Carnotaurus sastrei
The combination of horns, tiny arms and skin impressions makes Carnotaurus an exceptionally distinctive theropod.
Image: Carnotaurus, Chlupáč Museum, Prague-2.jpg : Czech Wikipedia user Packa derivative work: Hic et nunc · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
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Characteristics
- Scientific name
- Carnotaurus sastrei
- Period
- Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian)
- Lived
- 72–69 Ma (72 million years ago)
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Habitat
- Plains, Forest
- Length (estimate)
- 8 m
- Mass (estimate)
- 1,500 kg
Description
Carnotaurus had two short, blunt horns above its eyes, a deep snout and exceptionally small forelimbs. Skin impressions show scales and rows of larger knobs along its flanks. Its body structure suggests a fast hunter, but the role of its horns and its actual running speed are uncertain. Its nearly complete skeleton is unusually informative for a South American theropod.
Habitat
Warm river and coastal landscapes of southern South America.
Fossil sites
La Colonia Formation, Chubut
La Colonia Formation
Cultural profile: Argentina →
Contemporaries in the database
Sources: Carnotaurus