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The scene from Disney's "Dinosaurs" in which the
Carnotaur kills the Ceratopsid may help us ,if what we want to think about is
only some kind of offensive behaviour using the horns; these horns are laterally
directed (cranio-laterally?). In the scene the theropod runs from the back of
the Ceratopsid, and reaches it , pushes it down by one side, using its
body weight and then kills it..This is obviously speculation, but not an
unlikely scene IMHO.
If the horns were covered by keratine(?) ,so that
they would have been longer and sharper than the simple bone, then it would have
been quite easy to inflict a severe wound in the body of the attacked
animal before pushing it dowm, by means of a violent laterally
directed movement of the head-neck[ thus avoiding the use of a pretty weak
bite(if it really was weak)].I don't know if the neck (or the same skull)would
have been strong enough to bear such a violent impact,
but ..
just a thought...
FC
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