The skull, measuring 59.6 cm (23.5 in) in length, was proportionally shorter and deeper than in any other large carnivorous dinosaur.
The snout was moderately broad, not as tapering as seen in more basal theropods like Ceratosaurus, and the jaws were curved upwards.
As in other abelisaurids, the facial bones, especially the nasal bones, were sculptured with numerous small holes and spikes.
In life, a wrinkled and possibly keratinous skin would have covered these bones.
A prominent pair of horns protruded obliquely above the eyes.
These horns, formed by the frontal bones, were thick and cone-shaped, but somewhat vertically flattened in cross-section, and measured 15 cm (5.9 in) in length.
In life, they would probably have formed the bony cores of much longer keratinous horns.
The proportionally small eyes were situated in the upper part of the keyhole shaped orbita (eye sockets).
The upper part was slightly rotated forward, probably permitting some degree of binocular vision.

The teeth were long and slender, as opposed to the usually very short teeth seen in other abelisaurids.
On each side of the upper jaws there were four premaxillary and twelve maxillary teeth, while the lower jaws were equipped with fifteen dentary teeth per side.
In contrast to the robust-looking skull, the lower jaw was shallow and weakly constructed, with the dentary (the foremost jaw bone) connected to the hindmost jaw bones by only two contact points.
The lower jaw was found with hyoid bones, in the position they would be in if the animal was alive.
These slender bones, supporting the tongue musculature and several other muscles, are rarely found in dinosaurs because they are not connected to other bones and therefore get lost easily.
The skull, measuring 59.6 cm (23.5 in) in length, was proportionally shorter and deeper than in any other large carnivorous dinosaur. The snout was moderately broad, not as tapering as seen in more basal theropods like Ceratosaurus, and the jaws were curved upwards. As in other abelisaurids, the facial bones, especially the nasal bones, were sculptured with numerous small holes and spikes. In life, a wrinkled and possibly keratinous skin would have covered these bones. A prominent pair of horns protruded obliquely above the eyes. These horns, formed by the frontal bones, were thick and cone-shaped, but somewhat vertically flattened in cross-section, and measured 15 cm (5.9 in) in length. In life, they would probably have formed the bony cores of much longer keratinous horns. The proportionally small eyes were situated in the upper part of the keyhole shaped orbita (eye sockets). The upper part was slightly rotated forward, probably permitting some degree of binocular vision.
The teeth were long and slender, as opposed to the usually very short teeth seen in other abelisaurids. On each side of the upper jaws there were four premaxillary and twelve maxillary teeth, while the lower jaws were equipped with fifteen dentary teeth per side. In contrast to the robust-looking skull, the lower jaw was shallow and weakly constructed, with the dentary (the foremost jaw bone) connected to the hindmost jaw bones by only two contact points. The lower jaw was found with hyoid bones, in the position they would be in if the animal was alive. These slender bones, supporting the tongue musculature and several other muscles, are rarely found in dinosaurs because they are not connected to other bones and therefore get lost easily.
Carnotaurus