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sharp-clawed runner
Australovenator
Say it like this: “oss-tra-low-veh-NAY-tuhr”
Australovenator wintonensis
Australovenator ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in Australia.
- When
- Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) · roughly 100.5 to 93.9 million years ago
- Named in
- 2009 · Hocknull, S. A.; White, M. A.; Tischler, T. R.; Cook, A. G.; Calleja, N. D.; Sloan, T.; Elliott, D. A.
- Hip height
- Not established
- Length
- 7 m · 23 ft
- Weight
- 310–500 kg · 683–1,102 lb
- Found in
- Australia · Winton
- Food and walking
- Carnivore · Two legs
- Kind
- sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
- Family branch
- Megaraptoridae
The story in short
The genus Australovenator dates to 2009, the year S. A. Hocknull and colleagues described it. The name means “southern hunter.”
Fossils referred to Australovenator date to the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian), roughly 100.5 to 93.9 million years ago. Finds come from Australia, including the Winton Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.
Published estimates put Australovenator at a length near 7 m and a body mass around 310–500 kg.
On the family tree it sits in Megaraptoridae, among the theropod dinosaurs.