Carnotaurus (Wild Safari by Safari Ltd.)

Review and photos by Faelrin, edited by Suspsy

Carnotaurus, the meat-eating bull, was an abelisaurid theropod that has seen its rise to fame with Disney’s Dinosaur and more recently in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and probably needs no further introduction for those familiar with the blog (though for those who are new, don’t worry, it will be covered). That aside, Safari Ltd. once had a collaboration with the Carnegie Museum of Natural History producing a line of figures called the Carnegie Collection. Carnotaurus was one such genera that was represented in that line, twice. The Carnegie line ended in 2015, and Safari has since been gradually producing species that were in that line to make up for those that have been retired. New for 2019 is this Carnotaurus figure.

The new Carnotaurus is an imposing figure, in part to its size, but also its vibrant color scheme. It is over 10 inches/25 cm long and nearly 4 inches/10 cm tall. It looks to be prowling about, perhaps looking for prey or eyeballing a potential mate. Not much is currently known about what herbivores lived alongside Carnotaurus, and so it is hard to say what its potential prey was. In any case, it was certainly a pursuit predator, the dinosaur version of a cheetah. This was due to the larger caudofemoralis muscles in its tail and its caudal ribs being shaped and sized differently than on most theropods (in a V-shape). While this would give it an advantage in speed, it would not have been very good at quick turns due to its thicker tail. With this figure, I feel that it could have used more muscle along the tail, but at least it is rather robust at the base.

The proportions of the figure seem to be in line with what is currently known of Carnotaurus (much of its skeleton is known). There is debate over the size and length of the legs, and there isn’t much to go on for that, aside from what we know from other abelisaurids, so I do not take issue with the legs here, even if others may. The figure correctly has scutes represented along its back and sides and tiny scales (that may be out of scale). What is interesting is that the figure does not display the typical bird-like scales of many theropod reconstructions. This may be correct as there is now research suggesting bird feet scales have evolved from feathers. Carnotaurus does not seem to have had feathers, and it is not a coelurosaur, many of which were feathered in some manner. The arms and digits are correct, with no elbows and the digits positioned correctly. The hands are not pronated, but may be slightly oversized due to necessity for a figure this size. Carnotaurus‘ arms were likely vestigial, and are even smaller than those belonging to a certain group of famous theropods. The figure also features a cloaca.

The vibrant color scheme features a bright orange-red along most of the head and neck. The rest of the body is a grey-green color with some brown patterning on its sides and back. The belly is an off white color. The vibrant color scheme could suggest that this could be a (breeding) male. The horns on Carnotaurus were likely aided in display if not for other purposes such as interspecies combat that have been proposed. The figure here seems to have them covered in keratin, which they likely would have had in life. The rest of the head is the right shape, with a short snout and short width. The skin is not shrink-wrapped over the fenestrae and there are lips covering the teeth, which is also debated among many experts, even though there is probably little reason for most theropods to not have them, as most terrestrial creatures currently have them.

This figure has sated my needs for a more up-to-date reconstruction of Carnotaurus for the time being, and I’m glad my patience has paid off. I recommend that fans of this genus, and theropod dinosaurs in general, pick this one up. It can be ordered on Safari Ltd’s website, EverythingDinosaur, or other retailers.