Xinjiangovenator

Say it like this: “SHEEN-JEE-yon-go-VEN-uh-tuh”

Xinjiangovenator parvus

Xinjiangovenator ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Early Cretaceous. Bones have been found in China.

Quiz me on Xinjiangovenator

When: Early Cretaceous (Barremian · Aptian) · roughly 125.8 to 113.2 million years ago
Named in: 2005 · Rauhut, O. W. M.; Xu, X.
Hip height: Not established
Length: 3 m · 10 ft
Weight: 70 kg · 154 lb
Found in: China · Lianmuqin
Food and walking: Carnivore · Two legs
Kind: sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
Family branch: Coelurosauria

The story in short

The genus Xinjiangovenator dates to 2005, the year O. W. M. Rauhut and X. Xu described it. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.

Fossils referred to Xinjiangovenator date to the Early Cretaceous (Barremian · Aptian), roughly 125.8 to 113.2 million years ago. Finds come from China, including the Lianmuqin Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.

Published estimates put Xinjiangovenator at a length near 3 m and a body mass around 70 kg.

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

Close relatives

Aniksosaurus

Aniksosaurus darwini

Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian · Turonian) · roughly 100.5 to 89.8 million years ago

Aratasaurus

Aratasaurus museunacionali

Early Cretaceous (Albian) · roughly 113.2 to 100.5 million years ago

Bicentenaria

Bicentenaria argentina

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