Open Paleo

Carnotaurus

Bonaparte, 1985 KAHR-no-TAWR-us /ˌkɑːrnoʊˈtɔːrəs/

From Latin caro/carnis meaning 'flesh/meat' and Latin taurus meaning 'bull'. Full meaning: 'meat-eating bull' or 'flesh bull', referring to its bull-like horns and carnivorous diet.

72.2–66.0 million years ago Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous stages

Carnotaurus is a genus of theropod dinosaur that lived in South America during the Late Cretaceous period, between 69 and 66 million years ago. The only species is Carnotaurus sastrei. Known from a single well-preserved skeleton, it is one of the best-understood theropods from the Southern Hemisphere. The skeleton, found in 1984, was uncovered in the Chubut Province of Argentina from rocks of the La Colonia Formation. Carnotaurus is a derived member of the Abelisauridae, a group of large theropods that occupied the large predatorial niche in the southern landmasses of Gondwana during the late Cretaceous. Within the Abelisauridae, the genus is often considered a member of the Brachyrostra, a clade of short-snouted forms restricted to South America.

Diagnosis

  1. Skull short and tall with a deep, narrow snout and prominent supraorbital (frontal) horns
  2. Orbit divided into two parts, an upper rounded section projected anterolaterally for the eye and a lower laterally projected section
  3. Supratemporal opening small, with a high posterior wall formed by the parietal and squamosal and a low lateral border
  4. Forelimbs greatly reduced, with very short, stout radius and ulna that bear large convex distal ends

Species

Carnotaurus sastrei Bonaparte, 1985

Type species

Named for Angel Sastre, the owner of the ranch where the only known skeleton was found.

Holotype
MACN-CH 894 , Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales ‘Bernardino Rivadavia’
Material
An almost complete skeleton lacking only the distal half of the tail, both feet, and the distal half of the tibiae and fibulae.
Horizon
lower La Colonia Formation, Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous , 72.2–66.0 million years ago
Locality
Estancia Pocho Sastre, Bajada Moreno, Chubut, Argentina

References

  1. Bonaparte, J. F. (1985). A horned Cretaceous carnosaur from Patagonia. National Geographic Research 1(1): 149-151. bonaparte1985a
  2. Paul, G. S. (2024). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs (3rd ed.). Princeton University Press.

    Source of the appearance features.

    paul2024a