Carnotaurus

The Carnotaurus was a large predatory dinosaur that lived in Patagonia, Argentina, during the second half of the Cretaceous Period, about 65 to 100 million years ago. The discovery of the Carnotaurus was made in 1985 by Jose F. Bonaparte, a paleontologist from Argentina. Although a large dinosaur, the Carnotaurus was only a medium sized Theropod. Some distinct features of Carnotaurus are its two horns, very small forefingers, thick chest, thin tail, and small skull.

Carnotaurus in Popular Culture

The Carnotaurus has been increasingly popular in pop culture starting in the mid 1990's, appearing in the movie The Lost World and also appearing in the 2000 movie Dinosaur. In that film two Carnotaurus dinosaurs attack a large herd of herbivorous dinosaurs. The film erred in depicting the Carnosaurus as much larger than it actually was. Several video games tied in to the Jurassic Park franchise also feature the Carnotaurus.

Fast Facts:

1. Pronounced: kahrn-uh-TAWR-us
2. Translation: Meat-eating bull
3. Diet: Carnivore
4. Suborder: Theropodoa
5. Family: Abelisauridae
6. Species: Carnotaurus sastrei
7. Height: 13 feet (4 meters)
8. Length: 24.6 feet (7.5 meters)
9. Weight: 1,984 lbs (900 kg)
10. Time: Cretaceous Period

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