Carnotaurus sastrei was a carnivorous dinosaur that existed during the Cretaceous period of the Mesozoic Era, until the so-called great extinction of the Cretaceous - Paleogene. It was first described by the renowned Argentine paleontologist José Fernando Bonaparte in 1985, after its first fossils were discovered in Argentina.
The main characteristic of this dinosaur were the two horns that adorned its head and that were located exactly above the eyes. Carnotaurus sastrei was able to use these horns to attack possible prey and there are specialists who believe that it could use them to defend itself.
Representation of a Carnotaurus sastrei. Source: DerpyDuckAnimation / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)
According to the fossil records, this dinosaur lived only in southern South America, specifically in Argentine territory, since until now it has been where its remains have been located.
General characteristics
Likewise, specialists consider that this dinosaur could have been located in small groups, which allowed it to go hunting and shoot down large prey. Despite this, there are also experts who allege that this dinosaur was rather lonely. Others, more risky, have even said that the Carnotaurus sastrei could be of scavenger habits.
However, because a large number of specimens have not been recovered, the behavior they may have had in their habitat remains unknown.
Feeding
Whatever the cause, the truth is that Carnotaurus sastrei became extinct about 65 million years ago, when most dinosaurs did, leaving behind only fossil remains.
Fossils
The fossils of this animal have been discovered only in the region of Argentina. The first fossil was discovered in 1984, by members of an expedition entitled "Terrestrial Vertebrates of South America of the Jurassic and Cretaceous."
The exact site of the find was the department of Telsen, Chubut in Argentina, specifically in the sediments of the La Colonia Formation, which is very famous for the large number of fossils that have been discovered there.
This fossil found is made up of an almost complete skeleton, whose bones are in very good condition, which allows us to study them correctly and to know even their smallest protuberance. Only the terminal part of the tail and some of the leg bones are missing from the skeleton.
Likewise, very extensive fossil skin impressions were observed in the remains found, which allowed the characteristics of the skin of this dinosaur to be inferred quite accurately. Carnotaurus sastrei is the first dinosaur with fossil skin samples.
The skeleton of Carnotaurus sastrei that was located in 1985 is currently in the Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences Bernardino Rivadavia.
References
- Bonaparte, J., Novas, F. and Coria, R. (1990). Carnotaurus sastrei Bonaparte, the horned, lightly built carnotaur from the middle Cretaceous of Patagonia. Contributions Science Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 416
- Gasparini, Z., Sterli, J., Parras, A., Salgado, L., Varela J. and Pol, D. (2014). Late Cretaceous reptilian biota of the La Colonia Formation, central Patagonia, Argentina: Occurrences, preservation and paleoenvironments. Cretaceous Research 54 (2015).
- Mazzetta, G. and Farina, RA (1999). Estimation of the athletic capacity of Amargasaurus Cazaui (Salgado and Bonaparte, 1991) and Carnotaurus sastrei (Bonaparte, 1985) (Saurischia, Sauropoda-Theropoda). In: XIV Argentine Conference on Vertebrate Paleontology, Ameghiniana, 36
- Mazzeta, G., Fabián, S. and Fariña, R. (1999). On the palaeobiology of the South American horned theropod Carnotaurus sastrei Retrieved from: researchgate.net
- Novas, F. (1989). The carnivorous dinosaurs of Argentina. PhD. Dissertation. National University of La Plata.