Skorpiovenator

Say it like this: “SKOHR-pee-o-VEN-uh-tuh”

Skorpiovenator bustingorryi

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

Quiz me on Skorpiovenator

When: Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian · Turonian) · roughly 100.5 to 89.8 million years ago
Named in: 2009 · Canale, J. I.; Scanferla, C. A.; Agnolín, F. L.; Novas, F. E.
Hip height: 2.1 m · 7 ft
Length: 6–6.2 m · 20–20 ft
Weight: 891–900 kg · 1,964–1,984 lb
Found in: Argentina · Huincul
Food and walking: Carnivore · Two legs
Kind: sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
Family branch: Brachyrostra

The story in short

In 2009, J. I. Canale and colleagues published the name Skorpiovenator. The name means “scorpion hunter.”

Fossils referred to Skorpiovenator date to the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian · Turonian), roughly 100.5 to 89.8 million years ago. Finds come from Argentina, including the Huincul Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.

Published estimates put Skorpiovenator at a length near 6–6.2 m, hips about 2.1 m high, and a body mass around 891–900 kg.

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

Close relatives

Ekrixinatosaurus

Ekrixinatosaurus novasi

Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) · roughly 100.5 to 93.9 million years ago

Elemgasem

Elemgasem nubilus

Late Cretaceous (Turonian · Coniacian) · roughly 93.9 to 85.7 million years ago

Guemesia

Guemesia ochoai

Late Cretaceous (Campanian · Maastrichtian) · roughly 83.6 to 66 million years ago