| Nice, a Carnotaurus. You can recognize this predator immediately by the horns on its head, which give it a real rock and roll appearance. Those powerful legs can get this dinosaur moving as well, so probably best to stay out of its way. This dinosaur is so "metal." |
Carnotaurus is a genus of abelisaurid dinosaur in the Jurassic World Evolution series. Originating from Late Cretaceous South America, this bizarre predator is one of the best-understood theropod dinosaurs. Carnotaurus was bred for the original Jurassic Park, and later exhibited at Jurassic World.
Carnotaurus was added to Evolution for free with the release of the Fallen Kingdom Dinosaur Update, and is unlocked by progressing through the Science Division on Isla Pena and subsequently becomes available to excavate at the La Colonia Formation.
Carnotaurus then returned in the base game of Evolution 2. The Camp Cretaceous Dinosaur Pack and Dominion Malta Expansion later added one Carnotaurus skin each, based on its appearance in Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous and Jurassic World Dominion respectively. Carnotaurus then returned in the base game of Evolution 3.
History
Carnotaurus was first cloned by InGen during the creation of Jurassic Park on Isla Nublar, with the company possessing a pair of Carnotaurus on Isla Sorna in the 1990s.[1] While these animals weren't encountered during the incidents on Sorna in 1997 and 2001, the species itself was eventually exhibited in Jurassic World on Isla Nublar,[2] which opened in 2004. It is unknown if these Carnotaurus were transported from Isla Sorna once the island's biosphere began to collapse.[1]
In 2012, Carnotaurus was one of many species used to create the fearsome genetically modified hybrid known as Indominus rex,[3] which rampaged through Jurassic World in 2015.[4] During this, a lone Carnotaurus, nicknamed "Toro", was encountered numerous times by the survivors of Camp Cretaceous; Jurassic World's resident summer camp.[2]
Three years later, a Carnotaurus was encountered by Claire Dearing's group, which had been sent to Isla Nublar to save the dinosaurs from the impending eruption of Mount Sibo. While one of the Carnotaurus was killed by Isla Nublar's Tyrannosaurus, at least two individuals were successfully transported to the mainland and were subsequently released into the wilds of northern California along with all the other dinosaurs.[5]
In 2022, four years after the incident at Lockwood Manor, an adult and two juvenile Carnotaurus were present in the illegal Amber Clave Market of Valletta, Malta. One of the juvenile Carnotaurus aided in the demise of Rainn Delacourt by biting at his right hand, as a Lystrosaurus tore at his left, allowing a juvenile Baryonyx to come in and mutilate Delacourt's face. The adult Carnotaurus was eventually freed from its cage and roamed the streets of Valletta alongside an adult Allosaurus.[6]
Characteristics
| This carnivore, the Carnotaurus, was first discovered in Argentina. The name means 'meat-eating bull'... as if a regular bull wasn't bad enough. |
Perhaps one of the world's best-known dinosaurs and the apex predator of its era, Carnotaurus is an Abelisaurid that lived in what is now Argentina during the Late Cretaceous period. Weighing around 2 tons and spanning 10 meters in length, this lightly built, bipedal theropod dinosaur is well adapted for running and is one of the fastest theropods, well-suited for hunting prey that are smaller than itself. Its name translates to "Meat-Eating Bull", referring to the rows of long, sharp, flesh-ripping teeth and the two unique, thick bull-like horns above its eyes. Despite having a short and narrow head, rival Carnotaurus are likely to combat each other with rapid head blows, ramming each other and using the horns to absorb the shock, similar to dinosaurs in the pachycephalosaurid family. The arms of Carnotaurus are some of the shortest compared to body size in any carnivorous theropod dinosaur, suggesting they were completely vestigial. This is a trait all Abelisaurids share, but Carnotaurus takes to an extreme. The base genome of Carnotaurus is red, with black splotches covering the body.
Gameplay
Evolution
Behaviour
A Carnotaurus at night.
Carnotaurus can live in pairs, and tolerate up to twenty other dinosaurs in its enclosure of various species. Like other similarly sized carnivores, such as Albertosaurus and Baryonyx, Carnotaurus are able to hunt small and medium-sized herbivores, and engage in death duels with ceratopsians, ankylosaurids and other large carnivores. In terms of their preferred habitat, Carnotaurus prefer large areas of grassland and a small forested area in their enclosure, and eat from both the Carnivore and Live Bait Feeders.
Available genomes
| Fossil icon | Dig site | Quality | Number available |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
La Colonia Formation | ★ ★★ ★★★ ★★★★ |
2 6 12 8 |
Skins
Paleontology
A Carnotaurus with alpine pattern.
By far the most famous member of the abelisaurid family and one of the most well known dinosaurs ever discovered, Carnotaurus is known from a single well-preserved, yet virtually complete, skeleton and several skin impressions, with only the tail and lower legs missing, discovered by Argentine paleontologist José Bonaparte. The fossils were unearthed in the La Colonia Formation in Chubut Province, Argentina in 1984, with further exploration of the area uncovering numerous skin patches from the same dinosaur. The find included unusual details such as the hyoid bones that support the tongue in the jaw, and extensive skin impressions showing small non-overlapping scales. However, from this one skeleton, much has been learned from this unique carnivore. Measuring around 8 m (26 ft) long and weighing a maximum of 2 t (4,409 lb), Carnotaurus was built for speed, with long, powerful legs and a streamlined body, hence the tiny minuscule arms and wedge-shaped head. While its jaws were lined with 62 sharp, curved, pointed, and serrated teeth, the bite of Carnotaurus seems to have been relatively weak, as the lower jaw isn't as powerfully built as other theropods, this suggests that Carnotaurus was more adapted to chasing down smaller prey. Even though a study done by François Therrien in 2005 suggested that the bite of Carnotaurus was stronger than previously thought and not suited to high precision small prey catching. As a consequence, according to this study, Carnotaurus must have primarily preyed upon large animals, possibly by ambush. More recent studies support it having a weaker bite and a more flexible skull, leading some to suggest that it was a pursuit predator that swallowed relatively large prey whole. The skin had a pebbly texture with scutes and osteoderms, bony ridges that usually act as defense mechanisms in reptiles.
The horns of Carnotaurus were too blunt to be used as weapons and were more likely utilized as display features to attract mates or intimidate rivals. Some paleontologists believe that the horns were larger than their bony cores, and that they may have been part of a larger horn-like structure covering the top of the head. Additionally, the 1984 find included a well-perserved skeleton of Amargasaurus, originally believing the two dinosaurs co-existed in the same environment. However, further studies later revealed that the two species were separated by roughly 50 million years.
Paleoecology
Carnotaurus pair
Carnotaurus lived in what is now Argentina in La Colonia Formation of South America, around 83–66 million years ago, preferring the warmth and humidity of this environment which consisted of lakes, lagoons, estuaries, tidal flats or coastal plains with a seasonal both dry and humid climate depending on the period. Most likely the largest and apex predator of its time and ecosystem (if not one of them), it lived alongside various species of dinosaurs (known dinosaurs include saltasauroid titanosaurian sauropod Titanomachya, the large dromaeosaur Austroraptor, and fellow abelisaurid Koleken) as well as turtles, crocodiles, plesiosaurs, lizards, snakes and mammals, using its powerful hind legs to catch smaller prey such as Niebla antiqua.
Behind the scenes
The Carnotaurus was created using the 3D model that was created for 2018's Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom by Industrial Light & Magic, as well as audio files provided by Universal Pictures to create the most authentic representation of the dinosaur.[7] Its roars are similar to that of the Carnotaurus that appear in the movies, consisting of vocalizations from an orangutan and styrofoam with a double bass bow.
Gallery
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 What Killed the Gene Guard Act?. (February 23, 2018). Dinosaur Protection Group. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lueras, L., Kreamer, S., Spielberg, S., Trevorrow, C., Marshall, F. (Executive Producers). (2020–2022). Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous [TV series]. Universal Pictures; DreamWorks Animation Television.
- ↑ Indominus rex. Jurassic World. Archived from the original on December 24, 2017.
- ↑ Trevorrow, Colin. (Director). (2015). Jurassic World [Film]. Universal Pictures.
- ↑ Bayona, J. A. (Director). (2018). Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom [Film]. Universal Pictures.
- ↑ Trevorrow, Colin. (Director). (2022). Jurassic World Dominion [Film]. Universal Pictures.
- ↑ Krupa, Daniel (May 16, 2018). HOW JURASSIC WORLD EVOLUTION MADE ITS T.REX - IGN FIRST IGN. Retrieved June 14, 2018
External links
- Carnotaurus on Wikipedia
