Lusovenator

Say it like this: “LOO-so-ven-AY-tor”

Lusovenator santosi

Lusovenator ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Jurassic. Bones have been found in Portugal.

Quiz me on Lusovenator

When: Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian · Tithonian) · roughly 154.8 to 143.1 million years ago
Named in: 2020 · Malafaia, E.; Mocho, P.; Escaso, F.; Ortega, F.
Hip height: 0.7 m · 2 ft
Length: 3.5 m · 11 ft
Weight: 200 kg · 441 lb
Found in: Portugal · Lourinhã
Food and walking: Carnivore · Two legs
Kind: sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
Family branch: Carcharodontosauria

The story in short

In 2020, E. Malafaia and colleagues published the name Lusovenator. The name means “portuguese hunter.”

Fossils referred to Lusovenator date to the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian · Tithonian), roughly 154.8 to 143.1 million years ago. Finds come from Portugal, including the Lourinhã Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.

Published estimates put Lusovenator at a length near 3.5 m, hips about 0.7 m high, and a body mass around 200 kg.

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

Close relatives

Neovenator

Neovenator salerii

Early Cretaceous (Barremian) · roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago

Siamraptor

Siamraptor suwati

Early Cretaceous (Aptian) · roughly 121.4 to 113.2 million years ago

Ulughbegsaurus

Ulughbegsaurus uzbekistanensis

Late Cretaceous (Turonian) · roughly 93.9 to 89.8 million years ago