Ekrixinatosaurus novasi is a large abelisaurid with a relatively large head and robust limbs.
The combination of characteristics including a large skull, prominent supraorbital ridge above the dorsal aspect of the orbit, anteroposteriorly compressed cervical vertebrae, and robust, proportionally short hindlimbs with a tibia shorter than femur suggests that this was a massive animal with a great capacity to sustain injuries during intraspecific or interspecific combat.
The only known specimen was previously estimated between 7–8 m (23–26 ft) in length, and some suggested that this specimen actually represented the largest abelisaurid yet known at 10–11 m (33–36 ft) in length, surpassing the type of Carnotaurus.
However, it was later noted by other researchers that this estimate was based only on the absolute size of the skull, ignoring that limb bone comparisons clearly show Carnotaurus was larger, thus Carnotaurus was larger than Ekrixinatosaurus but with a proportionally smaller head.
Most recently, a 2016 study again found it to be smaller (7.4 m) than Carnotaurus (7.8 m).
The same year another estimation gave a length of 8.2 metres and a weight of 1.4 tonnes.
Ekrixinatosaurus novasi is a large abelisaurid with a relatively large head and robust limbs. The combination of characteristics including a large skull, prominent supraorbital ridge above the dorsal aspect of the orbit, anteroposteriorly compressed cervical vertebrae, and robust, proportionally short hindlimbs with a tibia shorter than femur suggests that this was a massive animal with a great capacity to sustain injuries during intraspecific or interspecific combat. The only known specimen was previously estimated between 7–8 m (23–26 ft) in length, and some suggested that this specimen actually represented the largest abelisaurid yet known at 10–11 m (33–36 ft) in length, surpassing the type of Carnotaurus. However, it was later noted by other researchers that this estimate was based only on the absolute size of the skull, ignoring that limb bone comparisons clearly show Carnotaurus was larger, thus Carnotaurus was larger than Ekrixinatosaurus but with a proportionally smaller head. Most recently, a 2016 study again found it to be smaller (7.4 m) than Carnotaurus (7.8 m). The same year another estimation gave a length of 8.2 metres and a weight of 1.4 tonnes.
Ekrixinatosaurus