Lucianovenator

Say it like this: “loo-chee-AH-no-VEN-uh-tuh”

Lucianovenator bonoi

Lucianovenator ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Triassic. Bones have been found in Argentina.

Quiz me on Lucianovenator

When: Late Triassic (Norian) · roughly 227.3 to 205.7 million years ago
Named in: 2017 · Martínez, R. N.; Apaldetti, C.
Hip height: Not established
Length: 4 m · 13 ft
Weight: 50 kg · 110 lb
Found in: Argentina · Quebrada del Barro
Food and walking: Carnivore · Two legs
Kind: sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
Family branch: Coelophysidae

The story in short

In 2017, R. N. Martínez and C. Apaldetti published the name Lucianovenator. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.

Fossils referred to Lucianovenator date to the Late Triassic (Norian), roughly 227.3 to 205.7 million years ago. Finds come from Argentina, including the Quebrada del Barro Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.

Published estimates put Lucianovenator at a length near 4 m and a body mass around 50 kg.

On the family tree it sits in Coelophysidae, among the theropod dinosaurs.

Close relatives

Camposaurus

Camposaurus arizonensis

Late Triassic (Norian) · roughly 227.3 to 205.7 million years ago

Coelophysis

Coelophysis bauri

Late Triassic (Norian · Rhaetian) · roughly 227.3 to 201.4 million years ago

Megapnosaurus

Megapnosaurus rhodesiensis

Early Jurassic (Hettangian · Sinemurian) · roughly 201.4 to 192.9 million years ago