Look up · dinosaur 982 of 1,425
sharp-clawed runner
Philovenator
Say it like this: “FIH-lo-VEN-uh-tuh”
Philovenator curriei
Philovenator ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in China.
- When
- Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago
- Named in
- 2012 · Xu, X.; Zhao, Q.; Sullivan, C.; Tan, Q. W.; Sander, M.; Ma, Q. Y.
- Hip height
- 0.2 m · 1 ft
- Length
- 0.8 m · 3 ft
- Weight
- 1 kg · 2 lb
- Found in
- China · Bayan Mandahu
- Food and walking
- Carnivore · Two legs
- Kind
- sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
- Family branch
- Troodontinae
The story in short
The genus Philovenator dates to 2012, the year X. Xu and colleagues described it. The name means “love hunter.”
It lived in the Late Cretaceous (Campanian), roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago. Finds come from China, including the Bayan Mandahu Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.
Published estimates put Philovenator at a length near 0.8 m, hips about 0.2 m high, and a body mass around 1 kg.
On the family tree it sits in Troodontinae, among the theropod dinosaurs.
Close relatives
Albertavenator
Albertavenator curriei
Late Cretaceous (Campanian · Maastrichtian) · roughly 83.6 to 66 million years ago
Borogovia
Borogovia gracilicrus
Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago
Byronosaurus
Byronosaurus jaffei
Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago