Scientists have painted a new image of Carnotaurus, the “carnivorous bull” dinosaur, with a complex layer of scales, tacos, spines, bumps and wrinkles.
The updated reconstruction comes after paleontologists led by the Unidad Ejecutora Lillo (Argentina) examined its fossilized skin in more detail.
Paleontologist José Bonaparte found it in 1984 in his country of Argentine origin, the only carnotaur known for its horned skull.
Unearthed on a farm near Bajada Moreno in Chubut province, the 26-foot-long fossil skeleton with sheets of its scaly skin was also unusually preserved.
This made the Carnotaur, which lived 71 million years ago in the late Cretaceous, the first meat-eating dinosaur to be found with its skin.
Scientists have painted a new image of Carnotaurus, the “carnivorous bull” dinosaur, with a complex layer of scales, tacos, spines, bumps and wrinkles, as depicted
The updated reconstruction comes after paleontologists led by the Unidad Ejecutora Lillo (Argentina) examined its fossilized skin in more detail. In the image: a mold of natural and negative relief of the skin on the right side of the anterior region of the tail of the Carnotaurus, with close-ups
Paleontologist José Bonaparte found it in 1984 in his country of Argentine origin, the only carnotaur known for its horned skull. Pictured: Guillermo Rougier, undergraduate student, posing next to the skull of the newly found Carnotaur
The Carnotaurus skin analysis was performed by paleontologists Christophe Hendrickx of the Lillo Execution Unit in Argentina and Phil Bell of the University of New England, Australia.
Unlike previous (and briefer) studies on dinosaur skin, the duo reported that they found no evidence that the scales were in irregular rows or that they resized depending on their body location, as seen in some modern lizards.
“Looking at the skin from the regions of the shoulders, belly and tail, we found that the skin of this dinosaur was more diverse than previously thought,” Dr. Hendrickx said.
It consisted, he added, “of large, randomly distributed conical spikes surrounded by a network of small elongated, diamond-shaped, or subcircular scales.”
The diamond-shaped scales resemble those seen on the skins of contemporary tyrannosaurids.
The larger scales of the Carnotaur (feature scales) were found splattered on the creature’s chest as well as along its tail.
According to Dr. Bell, a dinosaur skin expert, the large tacos and small scales seen in the Carnotaurus specimen resemble those seen in the thorny devil’s lizard that lives today in the Australian Outback.
And, as the duo explained, the scales would have been important in helping to regulate Carnotaurus body temperature, just as in modern reptiles.
Unlike many specimens of recently unearthed dinosaurs, particularly those from China, the Carnotaurus was totally scaly and showed no evidence of sporting feathers.
Unlike previous (and briefer) studies on dinosaur skin, the researchers reported that they found no evidence that the scales were in irregular rows or that they resized depending on their body location, as seen. in some modern lizards. In the picture: an artist’s impression of how Carnotaurus may have been in life
According to Dr. Bell, who is an expert on dinosaur skins, the large tacos and small scales seen in the Carnotaurus specimen resemble those seen in the devil’s thorny lizard (shown in the foreground more up) living today in the Australian Outback.
“Looking at the skin from the regions of the shoulders, belly and tail, we found that the skin of this dinosaur was more diverse than previously thought,” Dr. Hendrickx said. In the image: detailed photographs of the Carnotaur scale (top row) with other species of dinosaurs
Researchers are not entirely sure as to exactly why Carnotaurus had such a diverse range of large and small scales.
In 1997, researchers proposed that some of the dinosaur’s larger cone-shaped scales may have provided “some degree of protection during the confrontation.”
However, Dr. Bell and Dr. Hendrickx said their analyzes suggest that these scales would have done little to defend the Carnotaur against the bite.
Instead, they propose: “in Carnotaurus and, more broadly, among dinosaurs, it is possible that the function scales had a function of visualization / coloration.”
The full findings of the study were published in the journal Cretaceous Research.
The only known specimen of Carnotaure was unearthed by paleontologist José Bonaparte in 1984 on a farm near Bajada Moreno, in the province of Chubut. The 26-foot-long fossil skeleton was also unusually preserved with sheets of flaky skin.