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Skull of Carnotaurus sastrei.

Carnotaurus is a genus of large theropod dinosaur that lived in South America during the Late Cretaceous period, between about 72 and 70 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.

Carnotaurus was a lightly built, bipedal predator, measuring 8 to 9 m (26 to 30 ft) in length and weighing at least 1 metric ton (0.98 long tons; 1.1 short tons). The skeleton is preserved with extensive skin impressions, showing a mosaic of small, non-overlapping scales. The mosaic was interrupted by large bumps that lined the sides of the animal, and there are no hints of feathers. The distinctive horns and the muscular neck may have been used in fighting conspecifics. The feeding habits of Carnotaurus remain unclear: some studies suggest the animal was able to hunt down very large prey such as sauropods, while other studies find it preyed mainly on relatively small animals. Carnotaurus was well adapted for running and was possibly one of the fastest large theropods. (see more...)