Ace (carnotaur)

Ace is a Carnotaurus and is both the smartest and one of the swiftest members of the D-Team, next to the Deinonychus Trio and Delta.

## Basic information

### Personality:

Ace is a friendly dinosaur, but it is also shown to be a little more idiosyncratic than Chomp and Paris, possibly because he is a carnivore. he also showed great bravery when he attacked Trooper in his small form, although in this mode he was actually completely unfit to fight.

One of Ace's greatest weaknesses is his great fear of water, even when there were situations where he was willing to overcome it when there was no other way. The reasons for Ace fear of water are never explicitly explained, but it is possible that it is due to trauma from his past, or just a personal dislike. He has a mate named Beta, who used to be his alpha, long ago.

### Anatomy:

As a carnotaurus, ace is a large but lightly built predator. The only known individual was about 7.5–9 m (24.6–29.5 ft) in length, making *Carnotaurus* one of the largest abelisaurids. *Ekrixinatosaurus* and possibly *Abelisaurus*, which are highly incomplete, might have been similar or larger in size. only *Pycnonemosaurus*, at 8.9 m (29.2 ft), was longer than *Carnotaurus*; it was estimated at 7.8 m (25.6 ft). Its mass is estimated to have been 1,350 kg (1.33 long tons; 1.49 short tons), 1,500 kg (1.5 long tons; 1.7 short tons), 2,000 kg (2.0 long tons; 2.2 short tons), 2,100 kg (2.1 long tons; 2.3 short tons), and 1,306–1,743 kg (1.285–1.715 long tons; 1.440–1.921 short tons) in separate studies that used different estimation methods. *Carnotaurus* was a highly specialized theropod, as seen especially in characteristics of the skull, the vertebrae and the forelimbs. The pelvis and hind limbs, on the other hand, remained relatively conservative, resembling those of the more basal *Ceratosaurus*. Both the pelvis and hind limb were long and slender. The left femur (thigh bone) of the individual measures 103 cm in length, but shows an average diameter of only 11 cm

### Skull:

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. A prominent pair of horns protruded obliquely above the eyes. These horns, formed by the frontal bones, were thick and cone-shaped, internally solid, somewhat vertically flattened in cross-section, and measured 15 cm (5.9 in) in length. Bonaparte, in 1990, suggested that these horns would probably have formed the bony cores of much longer keratinous sheaths. Mauricio Cerroni and colleagues, in 2020, agreed that the horns supported keratinous sheaths, but argued that these sheaths would not have been greatly longer than the bony cores.

As in other dinosaurs, the skull was perforated by six major skull openings on each side. The frontmost of these openings, the external naris (bony nostril), was subrectangular and directed sidewards and forwards, but was not sloping in side view as in some other ceratosaurs such as *Ceratosaurus*. This opening was formed by the nasal and premaxilla only, while in some related ceratosaurs the maxilla also contributed to this opening. Between the bony nostril and the orbit (eye opening) was the antorbital fenestra. In *Carnotaurus*, this opening was higher than long, while it was longer than high in related forms such as *Skorpiovenator* and *Majungasaurus*. The antorbital fenestra was bounded by a larger depression, the antorbital fossa, which was formed by recessed parts of the maxilla in front and the lacrimal behind. As in all abelisaurids, this depression was small in *Carnotaurus*. The lower front corner of the antorbital fossa contained a smaller opening, the promaxillary fenestra, which led into an air-filled cavity within the maxilla. The eye was situated in the upper part of the keyhole-shaped orbit. This upper part was proportionally small and subcircular, and separated from the lower part of the orbit by the forward-projecting postorbital bone. It was slightly rotated forward, probably permitting some degree of binocular vision. The keyhole-like shape of the orbit was possibly related to the marked skull shortening, and is also found in related short-snouted abelisaurids. As in all abelisaurids, the frontal bone (on the skull roof between the eyes) was excluded from the orbit. Behind the orbit were two openings, the infratemporal fenestra on the side and the supratemporal fenestra on the top of the skull. The infratemporal fenestra was tall, short, and kidney-shaped, while the supratemporal fenestra was short and square-shaped. Another opening, the mandibular fenestra, was located in the lower jaw – in *Carnotaurus*, this opening was comparatively large.

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. The teeth had been described as being long and slender, as opposed to the very short teeth seen in other abelisaurids. However, Cerroni and colleagues, in their 2020 description of the skull, stated that all erupted teeth have been severely damaged during excavation and were later reconstructed with plaster (Bonaparte, in 1990, only noted that some lower jaw teeth had been fragmented). Reliable information on the shape of the teeth is therefore limited to replacement teeth and tooth roots that are still enclosed by the jaw, and can be studied using CT imaging. The replacement teeth had low, flattened crowns, were closely spaced, and inclined forwards at approximately 45°. In his 1990 description, Bonaparte noted that 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; this contrasts to the robust-looking skull. Cerroni and colleagues instead found multiple but loose connections between the dentary and the hindmost jaw bones. This articulation, therefore, was very flexible but not necessarily weak. The bottom margin of the dentary was convex, while it was straight in *Majungasaurus*.

The lower jaw was found with ossified 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 often cartilaginous and not connected to other bones and therefore get lost easily. In *Carnotaurus*, three hyoid bones are preserved: a pair of curved, rod-like ceratobranchials that articulate with a single, trapezoidal element, the basihyal. *Carnotaurus* is the only known non-avian theropod from which a basihyal is known. The back of the skull had well-developed, air-filled chambers surrounding the braincase, as in other abelisaurids. Two separate chamber systems were present, the paratympanic system, which was connected to the middle ear cavity, as well as chambers resulting from outgrowths of the air sacs of the neck.

A number of autapomorphies (distinguishing features) can be found in the skull, including the pair of horns and the very short and deep skull. The maxilla had excavations above the promaxillary fenestra, which would have been excavated by the antorbital air sinus (air passages in the snout). The nasolacrimal duct, which transported eye fluid, exited on the medial (inner) surface of the lacrimal through a canal of uncertain function. Other proposed autapomorphies include a deep and long, air-filled excavation in the quadrate and an elongated depression on the pterygoid of the palate.

### Vertebrae:

Sixth tail vertebra of the holotype in A) side, B) front and C) top views, with arrows indicating the highly modified caudal ribs
The vertebral column consisted of ten cervical (neck), twelve dorsal, six fused sacral and an unknown number of caudal (tail) vertebrae. The neck was nearly straight, rather than having the S-curve seen in other theropods, and also unusually wide, especially towards its base. The top of the neck's spinal column featured a double row of enlarged, upwardly directed bony processes called epipophyses, creating a smooth trough on the top of the neck vertebrae. These processes were the highest points of the spine, towering above the unusually low spinous processes. The epipophyses probably provided attachment areas for a markedly strong neck musculature. A similar double row was also present in the tail, formed there by highly modified caudal ribs, in front view protruding upwards in a V-shape, their inner sides creating a smooth, flat, top surface of the front tail vertebrae. The end of each caudal rib was furnished with a forward projecting hook-shaped expansion that connected to the caudal rib of the preceding vertebra.

### Forelimbs:

Bones of the hand, as interpreted by Ruiz and colleagues (2011)
Forelimb of *Carnotaurus*

The forelimbs were proportionally shorter than in any other large carnivorous dinosaurs, including *Tyrannosaurus*. The forearm was only a quarter the size of the upper arm. There were no carpalia in the hand, so that the metacarpals articulated directly with the forearm. The hand showed four basic digits, though apparently only the middle two of these ended in finger bones, while the fourth consisted of a single splint-like metacarpal that may have represented an external 'spur'. The fingers themselves were fused and immobile, and may have lacked claws. *Carnotaurus* differed from all other abelisaurids in having proportionally shorter and more robust forelimbs, and in having the fourth, splint-like metacarpal as the longest bone in the hand. A 2009 study suggests that the arms were vestigial in abelisaurids, because nerve fibers responsible for stimulus transmission were reduced to an extent seen in today's emus and kiwis, which also have vestigial forelimbs.

### Skin:

*Carnotaurus* was the first theropod dinosaur discovered with a significant number of fossil skin impressions. These impressions, found beneath the skeleton's right side, come from different body parts, including the lower jaw, the front of the neck, the shoulder girdle, and the rib cage. The largest patch of skin corresponds to the anterior part of the tail. Originally, the right side of the skull also was covered with large patches of skin—this was not recognized when the skull was prepared, and these patches were accidentally destroyed. However, the surface texture of several skull bones allows for inferences on their probable covering. A hummocky surface with grooves, pits, and small openings is found on the sides and front of the snout and indicates a scaly covering, possibly with flat scales as in today's crocodilians. The top of the snout was sculptured with numerous small holes and spikes – this texture can probably be correlated with a cornified pad (horny covering). Such a pad also occurred in *Majungasaurus* but was absent in *Abelisaurus* and *Rugops*. A row of large scales did probably surround the eye, as indicated by a hummocky surface with longitudinal grooves on the lacrimal and postorbital bones.

The skin was built up of a mosaic of polygonal, non-overlapping scales measuring approximately 5–12 mm (0.20–0.47 in) in diameter. This mosaic was divided by thin, parallel grooves. Scalation was similar across different body parts with the exception of the head, which apparently showed a different, irregular pattern of scales. There is no evidence of feathers. Larger bump-like structures were distributed over the sides of the neck, back and tail in irregular rows. These bumps were 4 to 5 cm (1.6 to 2.0 in) in diameter and up to 5 cm (2.0 in) in height and often showed a low midline ridge. They were set 8 to 10 cm (3.1 to 3.9 in) apart from each other and became larger towards the animal's top. The bumps probably represent feature scales – clusters of condensed scutes – similar to those seen on the soft frill running along the body midline in hadrosaurid ("duck-billed") dinosaurs. These structures did not contain bone. Stephen Czerkas (1997) suggested that these structures may have protected the animal's sides while fighting members of the same species (conspecifics) and other theropods, arguing that similar structures can be found on the neck of the modern iguana where they provide limited protection in combat.

More recent studies of the skin of *Carnotaurus* published in 2021 suggest that previous depictions of the scales on the body are inaccurate, and the larger feature scales were randomly distributed along the body, not distributed in discrete rows like in older artistic depictions and illustrations. There is also no sign of progressive size variation in feature scales along different areas along the body. The basement scales of *Carnotaurus* were by comparison highly variable, ranging in size from small and elongated, to large and polygonal, and from circular-to-lenticular in the thoracic, scapular, and tail regions, respectively. This scale differentiation may have been related to regulating body heat and shedding excess heat via thermoregulation due to its large body size and active lifestyle

## Abilities

As a wind dinosaur, Ace has a very swift arsenal of move cards, which come in very handy when he is in the need for speed.

### Cyclone:

A tornado descends onto Ace, surrounding him with wind and boosting his ramming and throwing power! This is his original Move Card, found with is card, as well as his most-used one. He twice used it to suck up a large amount of water, turning his attack into a "Hurricane" (a giant water tornado).
### Ninja Attack:

Ace runs forward and creates duplicates of himself, all of which jump up and land around his opponent, running in a circle around them; then, the Ace and his duplicates dash from one side to the other, slamming the opponent, the hits quickly becoming faster and faster!
### Mayfly:

Ace races forward and vanishes in a blur, zooming around his opponent before zipping in and slamming them repeatedly at blinding speed!
### Thunder Storm Bazooka (Thunder Bazooka/Cyclone Fusion Move):

Chomp and Ace charge in a line as a wind tunnel forms around them; Chomp leaps and spins like in Thunder Bazooka, gathering electricity and wind around his body before slamming and drilling into their opponent! It was the first-identified true Fusion Move, though not the first attack fusion.
### Biting Wind:

With tornadoes raging around Ace, a storm of spinning crescent wind blades shoot out from behind him!
### Hurricane Beat:

A pair of tornadoes merge around Ace's opponent, lifting and suspending them in the air; Ace then jumps over and kicks them repeatedly and rapidly in the face, then flips back and knocks them away with a swing of his tail!
### Sonic Blast:

Ace charges and shoots a swirling burst of wind from his mouth at his opponent, blasting them back!
### Ultimate Wind:

While wearing DinoTector Armor, which is required, a burst of wind from the ground strengthens Ace, before he runs forward and jumps to create a cone of wind around him, flying forward and hitting his opponent with it!
## Move card gallery

cycloneninja attackmayflybiting windhurricane beatsonic blastultimate wind