In the new Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom trailer, the climactic moment shows the Tyrannosaurus Rex chomping into the throat of another large carnivore. That horned beast is a real dinosaur called the Carnotaurus.
This is the first appearance of the Carnotaurus in the Jurassic Park movies, although it was mentioned in Michael Chrichton’s The Lost World novel. The beast was also featured in various Jurassic Park games and comics. Kenner even made JP-branded Carnotaurus figures.
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Carnotaurus DNA was included in the mix that resulted in the Indominus Rex seen in Jurassic World.
Carnotaurus sastrei was smaller than the T-Rex and lived in South America about 80 million years ago. The horns seen just above its eyes were part of its skull. Carnotaurus means “meat-eating bull.”
Chrichton gave the dinosaur a chameleon-like ability to change the color of its skin in The Lost World, but this is likely fiction.
In reality, the T-Rex also likely would never have met a Carnotaurus. The T-Rex lived about 68 to 66 million years ago and in North America.
Audiences will finally get to see the Carnotaurus in action on June 22, 2018 in Fallen Kingdom, the fifth film in the franchise. This time, Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) and Owen (Chris Pratt) head back to Isla Nublar to save the dinosaurs from another extinction after learning that the island is volcanic. Jeff Goldblum also returned to the series to play Dr. Ian Malcolm, who we see testify before politicians in support of saving the reptiles.
Photo credit: YouTube/ Universal
