Genus
Valid Extinct

Carnotaurus

Bonaparte 1985
Etymology Taureau carnivore

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.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
1
Group
Dinosaures
Carnivore Ground dwelling, solitary Terrestrial
Carnotaurus
click to enlarge
Carnotaurus in Chlupáč museum in Prague © Carnotaurus, Chlupáč Museum, Prague-2.jpg: Czech Wikipedia user Packa derivative work: Hic et nunc · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia
Carnotaurus
Carnotaurus
PBDB Wikipedia
Classification
Dinosauria Unranked clade
Theropoda Unranked clade
Neotheropoda Unranked clade
Averostra Unranked clade
Ceratosauria Suborder
Abelisauridae Family
Brachyrostra Unranked clade
Furileusauria Unranked clade
Carnotaurus Genus
Measurements
Height
3 m
Length
8 m
Mass
1 350 kg
Fossil sites 1 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇦🇷 Argentina
1
Geological formations
La Colonia
1
Temporal distribution
Maastrichtian (72.2–66 Ma)
1
Species (1)
Carnotaurus sastrei 72 Ma
Images 10
Bibliography
Original description
J. F. Bonaparte. 1985. A horned Cretaceous carnosaur from Patagonia. National Geographic Research 1(1):149-151
Bibliography (1)
J. F. Bonaparte. 1985. A horned Cretaceous carnosaur from Patagonia. National Geographic Research 1(1):149-151