Skip to main content
DinosaursNamesPrehistoric Database
Late Cretaceous

Carnotaurus

Carnotaurus sastrei • "Meat-Eating Bull"

Carnotaurus was a meat-eating theropod from Late Cretaceous Argentina. It had two prominent brow horns, an unusually short snout, and very small arms; the purpose of its horns is not known.

Length
≈8 m
Weight
≈1.8 t
Diet
Carnivore
Danger
Battle this dinosaurView gallery
Carnotaurus (Carnotaurus sastrei) — illustrated species reference

Overview

The cheetah of Cretaceous South America. Carnotaurus is famed for its distinctive bull horns, tiny vestigial arms, and colossal tail-to-leg musculature that turned it into a high-speed pursuit predator.

“The Carnotaurus holotype included remarkable fossilized skin impressions showing non-overlapping pebbled scales and rows of larger conical studs along its sides.”

Key facts

Strengths

  • Fastest large theropod on record (top sprint speed over 50 km/h)
  • Bull-like headbutting capability to stun prey
  • Rapid-action snap bite jaw kinematics

Weaknesses

  • Extremely vestigial, useless forelimbs
  • Poor high-speed turning radius due to rigid tail musculature

Natural weapons

  • Two thick forward-projecting brow horns for headbutting
  • Massive caudofemoralis muscle delivering 48-55 km/h sprint velocity
  • Rapid-action snap bite jaw mechanics

Movies vs. science

Myth: Popular media often gave it chameleon-like camouflage abilities.

Reality: No scientific evidence for camouflage; it was built for pure open-field sprint pursuit.

Size & simulator stats

Estimated at about 8 m long. The skeleton is incomplete, so parts of its body reconstruction remain uncertain.

Length
8 m
Height
2.8 m
Weight
1.8 t

Illustrative simulator values (not measured biology)

Attack84/100
Defense70/100
Speed94/100
Intelligence72/100
Bite force ≈ 3,500 PSI

See how Carnotaurus measures up in the sourced size comparison chart.

Habitat

Open coastal plains, semi-arid estuaries, and tidal flats of Patagonia.

Argentina, in South America.

Diet

Hunted fast-running small-to-medium ornithopods and juvenile sauropods.

Carnivore. It ate other animals, but the specific prey it hunted is not known.

Fossils & discovery

First described from Argentina in 1984 (La Colonia Formation (Patagonia)).The Carnotaurus holotype included remarkable fossilized skin impressions showing non-overlapping pebbled scales and rows of larger conical studs along its sides.

Research sources

Sources checked on by the Dinosaurs Names Editorial Team. Editorial policy

Battle Arena

Can anything beat Carnotaurus?

Send Carnotaurus into an illustrative matchup against any other species and compare attack, defense, and bite force.

Fight as Carnotaurus