Carnotaurus was a large predatory dinosaur, similar to a Tyrannosaurus rex with a head resembling a bull's (the name "Carnotaurus" can be roughly translated as "carnivorous bull").
Carnotaurus lived in Patagonia, Argentina near the end of the Cretaceous period, about 65 to 70 million years ago, and was discovered by José F. Bonaparte, who has discovered many other bizarre, South American dinosaurs.
Description
The most distinctive features of Carnotaurus are the two thick horns above the eyes, and the extremely reduced forelimbs with only two fingers. It had a small skull, a thick chest, and a thin tail. The eyes of the Carnotaurus faced forward, which is unusual in a dinosaur, and may indicate binocular vision and depth perception.
A single nearly complete skeleton has been described including impressions of skin along almost the entire right side, that show Carnotaurus lacked feathers, unlike many other theropods discovered recently (see also feathered dinosaurs). Instead, the skin is lined with rows of bumps, that become larger toward the spine.
Carnotaurus was a medium-sized theropod, about 7.5 m (25 ft) in length, 2.2 m (7 ft 3 in) tall at the hips, and weighing about 1,000 kg (1.1 tons).
Classification
The type species Carnotaurus sastrei is the only known species. Its closest relatives include Aucasaurus (Argentina), Majungatholus (Madagascar), and Rajasaurus (India). Together, these dinosaurs form the subfamily Carnotaurinae in the family Abelisauridae .
In fiction
Carnotaurus appeared in the novel The Lost World by Michael Crichton (1995) as a colour-changing chameleonlike dinosaur, but this ability is purely speculative for any dinosaur.
In the movie Dinosaur, at least two Carnotaurus appear, attacking a large herd of dinosaurs.
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