horns may have been a device for the distribution of compression forces without damage to the brain. This is supported by the flattened upper sides of the horns, the strongly fused bones of the top of the skull, and the inability of the skull to survive rapid head blows. Rafael Delcourt, in 2018, suggested that the horns could have been used either in slow headbutting and shoving, as seen in the modern marine iguana, or in blows to the opponent's neck and flanks, as seen in the modern giraffe. The latter possibility had been previously proposed for the related Majungasaurus in a 2011 conference paper. Gerardo Mazzetta and colleagues (1998) propose that the horns might also have been used to injure or kill small prey. Though horn cores are blunt, they may have had a similar form to modern bovid horns if there was a keratinous covering. However, this would be the only reported example of horns being used as hunting weapons in animals. Jaw function and diet Analyses of the jaw structure of Carnotaurus by Mazzetta and colleagues, in 1998, 2004, and 2009, suggest that the animal was capable of quick bites, but not strong ones. Quick bites are more important than strong bites when capturing small prey, as shown by studies of modern-day crocodiles. These researchers also noted a high degree of flexibility (kinesis) within the skull and especially the lower jaw, somewhat similar to modern snakes. Elasticity of the jaw would have allowed Carnotaurus to swallow small prey items whole. In addition, the front part of the lower jaw was hinged, and thus able to move up and down. When pressed downwards, the teeth would have projected forward, allowing Carnotaurus to spike small prey items; when the teeth were curved upwards, the now backward projecting teeth would have hindered the caught prey from escaping. Mazzetta and colleagues also found that the skull was able to withstand forces that appear when tugging on large prey items. Carnotaurus may therefore have fed mainly on relatively small prey, but also was able to hunt large dinosaurs. In 2009, Mazzetta and colleagues estimated a bite force of around 3,341 newtons. A 2022 study estimating bite force for 33 different dinosaurs suggests that the bite force in Carnotaurus was around 3,392 newtons at the anterior portion of the jaws; slightly higher than the previous estimate. The posterior bite force at the back