Scientists reveal fossilized skin of carnivorous bull-like dinosaur

One of the strangest carnivorous dinosaurs ever discovered has been given a makeover by two Belgian and Australian paleontologists.

The remarkable fossil was discovered in 1984 by the famous Argentine paleontologist José Bonaparte who named the animal Carnotaur, which translates to “carnivorous bull” in reference to its strange skull with large horns.

The skeleton, which comes from the province of Chubut in Patagonia, was preserved with leaves from its scaly skin. Although scientists at the time knew that other types of dinosaurs were scaly, Carnotaur was the first carnivorous dinosaur discovered with skin.

Although a number of scientists have examined the fossilized skin, no one has studied it in detail. Paleontologist Dr. Christophe Hendrickx from Unidad Ejecutora Lillo in San Miguel de Tucumán, who led the present study, said: “Looking at the skin of the shoulder, belly and tail regions, we found that the This dinosaur’s skin was more diverse than previously thought, consisting of large, randomly distributed conical studs surrounded by a network of small elongated, diamond-shaped, or subcircular scales. “

Hendrickx worked with Dr. Phil Bell, a dinosaur skin expert from the University of New England in Australia who pointed out the large tenons and small scales of Carnotaur is reminiscent of the thorny devil lizard found in the Australian outback.

Unlike more recent discoveries of feathered dinosaurs, especially from China, the 8 meters long Carnotaur was completely scaly, with no trace of feathers. As an active predator, scientists believe the scales have played an important role in regulating the body temperature of animals, as they do in modern reptiles.

The study was published in the journal Cretaceous research.