“The Bull-Horned Sprinter of Patagonia”
Binomial Carnotaurus sastrei · kar-noh-TAW-rus
Late Cretaceous - 72-69 Ma
IllustrationCarnotaurus fossil records in Fossil Atlas are mapped as selected modern discovery locations, with 1 source-backed records currently shown. Patagonia, Argentina, especially La Colonia Formation context in the current atlas. Key mapped formations in the current dataset include La Colonia Formation. These pins are fossil record locations, not a complete ancient habitat map.
Carnotaurus was a horned abelisaurid theropod from Late Cretaceous Patagonia. Fossil Atlas treats its mapped point as a source-backed modern discovery locality, not a complete ancient range.
Drawn true to scale on a metre ruler.
Length
measured7.5 m · 25 ft
Largest known specimens
Height
measured3 m (10 ft)
Body mass
estimate1,500 kg · 3,300 lb
Typical adult
Top speed
estimate48 km/h · 30 mph
Modelled, debated
Carnotaurus was an abelisaurid theropod with a distinctive pair of blunt horns above its eyes and extremely reduced forelimbs. Its leg proportions suggest it was among the fastest large theropods, capable of sustained high-speed pursuit. The single known skeleton includes extensive skin impressions across much of the body, making it one of the best-documented theropods for external appearance.
The horns
Two blunt, laterally-pointing horns above the eyes, unlike anything in other non-avian dinosaurs. Their function is unresolved: display, intraspecific combat, and limited offensive use have all been proposed.
Speed
Leg proportions suggest Carnotaurus was capable of fast sustained movement. A 2020 study estimated it could sustain speeds around 48 km/h without the energy cost increasing steeply, making it the fastest large theropod modelled so far.
Forelimbs
Extremely reduced, with only vestigial finger elements. Even more reduced than T. rex. Their function is unclear.
Skin
The skeleton includes skin impressions over much of the body, showing rows of large non-overlapping scales with a mosaic of smaller scales between them. No feathers are indicated.
Position of this animal’s known range across 252 million years of the Mesozoic and beyond.
72-69 million years ago
Carnotaurus had distinctive horns above its eyes and extremely reduced forelimbs.
Skin impressions make it unusually useful for discussing real fossil evidence versus reconstruction art.
Its Argentina context connects the record to other Patagonian dinosaur profiles.
Jose Bonaparte's team found the single known Carnotaurus skeleton in Chubut Province, Argentina in 1984, and Bonaparte published the description the following year. The specimen is one of the most complete large theropods ever found and the most complete abelisaurid, which is why much of what researchers know about abelisaurid skin and general anatomy comes from this one skeleton. No additional confirmed Carnotaurus specimens have been found since.
Animals known from the same deposits and time as Carnotaurus.
Saltasaurus
A titanosaur sauropod from roughly the same time and region, unusually armored for a sauropod.
Aucasaurus
A smaller abelisaurid from Argentina, possibly a contemporary of Carnotaurus in Late Cretaceous Patagonia.
Neuquensaurus
A titanosaur sauropod from Patagonia, a likely prey item for large abelisaurids of the region.
Other members of Abelisauridae.
Ceratosaurus
A more distant relative from the Late Jurassic, in the same broader ceratosaur group.
Majungasaurus
A closely related abelisaurid from Madagascar with a single horn on the skull.
Rajasaurus
An Indian abelisaurid with a nasal horn, showing the family's range across the Cretaceous southern continents.
Pins show selected fossil records for Carnotaurus; use them as modern discovery evidence, not a complete range map. Modern fossil discovery map: pins show where selected fossil and specimen records were found today, not ancient Earth positions. What does this mean?
Specimen evidence
No open specimen media or embeddable model assets are available in the local enrichment data yet.
Carnotaurus is represented here by selected fossil records from patagonia, argentina, especially la colonia formation context in the current atlas. Fossil Atlas maps those records as modern discovery locations.
No. The map shows modern fossil discovery locations from selected records. Ancient habitat and paleogeographic reconstructions are separate questions.
The current Fossil Atlas records include La Colonia Formation. Formation coverage depends on the selected dataset and may not be complete.
Yes. Use the expedition card generator to turn the Carnotaurus map and specimen profile into a shareable card.
Selected fossil records from PBDB and museum biodiversity aggregators. This is not a complete fossil count by country; source labels and confidence notes help distinguish canonical paleobiology records from specimen-media records.
Reconstruction images are labeled illustrations and do not represent fossil evidence. Size, speed, and bite-force figures are typical published estimates and remain subject to revision as new specimens are described.
Maps use curated PBDB, museum, and specimen-source records with visible caveats.
Pins show where fossils were found or reported today, not exact ancient habitat positions.
Artwork is labeled separately from specimen photos, maps, and source records.
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