Carnotaurus is one of the most well-known genera of abelisaurid dinosaurs. It has a very distinctive look among its group, thanks to the large side-wards growing horns it adorns on its head, which also give it its name, "Carnotaurus", in reference to how bulls also share side-wards protruding horns. Currently, only one fossil of this species is known, and so only one species exists in our current understanding, Carnotaurus sastrei.
Not much is known about its environments, however, on the basis of the claystone/shale and sandstone that comprises its formation, it likely lived in some kind of wet environment, perhaps close to a shore. It was once thought to have lived during the Santonian stage of the Late Cretaceous, but now it is recognized as belonging to the Maastrichtian, the last stage of the age of the dinosaurs. One thing about this animal, that adds to its popularity within the paleocommunity is the fact that its fossil preserves skin impressions. It was covered in scaly skin, with rows of "feature scales" (larger scales surrounded by smaller scales) running the length of the body.
Dinosaur Babes (1996)[]
Species
C. sastrei
History and Design
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Cultural Significance
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Dinosaur Valley Girls (1996)[]
Species
C. sastrei
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Disney's Dinosaur (2000)[]
History and Design
There are two confirmed Carnotaurus in the movie, possibly three. They all share the same design, with one slight difference: the "big" Carnotaurus has symmetrically shaped horns, whereas the "smaller" individual has a downwards curving left horn, while the right horn curves upwards. They are different in size as well. It is unknown if this is due to sexual dimorphism or simply individual variation. It is also possible that the larger individual is a parent, and the smaller one a juvenile.
The Carnotaurus are counter-shaded with carmine colors on the upper half, and a tan or white on the underside. Their feature scales and horns appear to be grey in color. The feature scales on their body remain of a consistent size, but they narrow in their distance as they progress towards the end of the tail, grouping en mass to form a tail similar to that of a Tuatara.
Role
There are at least two Carnotaurus in the movie, with a possible third individual. The third individual is the first that we see appear in the movie. No distinction is made among its design with the other large Carnotaurus. Neither has it been stated that it is the same individual as the larger Carnotaurus from later on in the movie, so it remains unknown whether it legitimately is different from the rest.
In the movie, it lays hidden in foliage until it is disturbed by a juvenile Parasaurolophus, which blows its cover. Having no choice left but to unleash its ambush prematurely, the Carnotaurus bursts out of cover, right behind the fleeing juvenile Parasaurolophus, making a straight line for the Herbivore nesting grounds ahead. It looks down at the little Parasaurolophus trying to run away from it, but it decides not to snatch it up, presumably because it wouldn't make for a satisfying meal. Dismissing the juvenile, it heads straight towards the Herbivore nests, as they abandon their nests and eggs. In the process, a Pachyrhinosaurus is killed in a futile attempt at escape.
Later in the movie, two Carnotaurus antagonists make an entrance, revealing that they've been following the migration of the herd, right across the desert. Small Velociraptors scurry away from a stripped-off carcass which they were feeding on, as the Carnotaurus approached.
These Carnotaurus later stalk and kill an Iguanodon scout on perimeter patrol, however, an injured Bruton manages to escape.
They are seen in a short sequence once again where they arrive at the small water pool created by the herd, to drink, as rain clouds gather, and thunder can be heard.
Soon, they arrive at a cave opening, hidden by a waterfall to look for shelter from the rain. After a rock tumbles out of the cave, the smaller Carnotaurus inserts its head into the cave opening, possibly to see if something or someone has taken residence behind the waterfall. After a thunder strike illuminates the presence of Aladar in the cave, the smaller Carnotaurus launches an attack, barging straight into the cave opening. It manages to get a hold of Aladar's tail and drags him down, but just before it can take a bite out of him, the larger Carnotaurus appears, only to shove away the smaller individual, in an attempt to be the first to feast on the Iguanodon. The smaller individual replies with shoves in order to do the same, but they both end up giving Aladar an opportunity to escape, which he seizes.
Inaccuracies and Accuracies
The Carnotaurus in Disney’s Dinosaur are oversized, more similar to that of Tyrannosaurus. They also have tiny, tyrannosaur-like arms instead of the tiny, backward-facing forelimbs that real Carnotaurus had. A Carnotaurus kills a Pachyrhinosaurus at the beginning of Disney’s Dinosaur. In real life, Carnotaurus never met Pachyrhinosaurus, as the latter was native to North America rather than South America, which meant that Pachyrhinosaurus was killed by tyrannosaurids instead. Unlike what is shown in Disney’s Dinosaur, Carnotaurus never came into contact with Iguanodon. Not only did the two dinosaurs live in different parts of the Cretaceous period, they were also different sizes. Adult Carnotaurus were up to 25 feet and legs while adult Iguanodon were 30 to 33 feet in length, thus making the Carnotaurus smaller than the Iguanodon. As such, Carnotaurus did not have the strength to throw an adult Iguanodon against a rock and leave it to die like what the larger Carnotaurus did to Kron in Disney’s Dinosaur. Carnotaurus was native to South America, while Iguanodon was native to Europe. A real Carnotaurus had a tail designed for balance while running at high speeds (think of Carnotaurus is being a Cretaceous horned cheetah). This means that unlike the larger Carnotaurus from Disney’s Dinosaur, the real abelisaurid could not use its tail to strike another dinosaur. Also, the Disney’s Dinosaur 's Carnotaurus should not have tyrannosaur-like skulls, but a skull shaped like a bulldog’s instead. Unlike what is shown in Disney’s Dinosaur,
Cultural Significance
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Dinosaur King (2007 - 2009)[]
Species
C. sastrei
History and Design
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Role
A Carnotaurus named Ace is the main dinosaur of the character Rex.
Cultural Significance
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Bizarre Dinosaurs (2009)[]
History and Design
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Inaccuracies
The Carnotaurus model has massive, oversized arms. Its arms also face in the wrong direction; they should be facing backwards.
Role
Carnotaurus is featured directly after T. rex.
Cultural Significance
Life After Dinosaurs (2010)[]
Species
C. sastrei
History and Design
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Terra Nova (2011)[]
Species
C. sastrei
History and Design
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The Land Before Time franchise franchise (2016)[]
Species
C. sastrei
History and Design
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Inaccuracies
The Carnotaurus in The Land Before Time franchise has visible fingers, and in real life, as opposed to The Land Before Time franchise, Carnotaurus had arms that were pulled backwards and were extremely vestigial. There are three fingers on The Land Before Time interpretation of Carnotaurus, whereas the actual theropod had four. The arms on The Land Before Time Carnotaurus has much longer arms than a real Carnotaurus. The horns of The Land Before Time interpretation of Carnotaurus are forward-facing, when it should have short horns that either faced upwards or sideways. It is depicted as rather stocky and large, but the real Carnotaurus had a very lean body that allowed it to run extremely fast at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour. Speaking of running fast, the Carnotaurus who stars in Journey of the Brave is depicted as being far more agile than its real-life counterpart.
Role
Carnotaurus appears in the Journey of the Brave movie of The Land Before Time franchise as one of the antagonists alongside the Yutyrannus.
Cultural Significance
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Dino King/Speckles the Tarbosaurus franchise (2017)[]
Species
C. sastrei
History and Design
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Cultural Significance
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Jurassic franchise (2018-2022)[]
Species
C. sastrei
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Gallery: Jurassic Park Franchise Carnotaurus/Gallery
Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous (2020-2022)[]
History and Design
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Cultural Significance
Species
Gallery
Prehistoric Planet (2022)[]
Species
C. sastrei
History and Design
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Inaccuracies
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Role
A male Carnotaurus is featured in the Prehistoric Planet episode Forests where he does a courtship dance involving his apparently useless arms to impress a female. He gets rejected, though, and David Attenborough, who narrates the series, wonders how he could have done better.
Cultural Significance
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Amazing Dinoworld/Dinosaur Superworld (2019-2023)[]
History and Design
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Gallery
Sauria (David Armsby) (2023-2024)[]
History and Design
Role
Inaccuracies
Jurassic World: Chaos Theory (2024)[]
History and Design
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Cultural Significance
Species
Gallery
Trivia[]
- Carnotaurus was originally meant to be featured in the "Alpha's Egg" episode of Dinosaur Planet, but was replaced by the related carnotaurin abelisaur Aucasaurus.