Australovenator

Australovenator
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous,[1]
~95 Ma (possible Albian record)
Reconstructed skeleton, Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum, Winton, Australia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Theropoda
Clade: Megaraptora
Family: Megaraptoridae
Genus: Australovenator
Hocknull et al. 2009
Species:
A. wintonensis
Binomial name
Australovenator wintonensis
Hocknull et al. 2009

Australovenator (meaning "southern hunter") is a genus of megaraptoran theropod dinosaur from Cenomanian (Late Cretaceous)-age Winton Formation (dated to 95 million years ago[1]) of Australia. Some specimens from the Albian-aged Eumeralla Formation may belong to Australovenator. It is known from partial cranial and postcranial remains which were described in 2009 by Scott Hocknull and colleagues, although additional descriptions and analyses continue to be published. It is the most complete predatory dinosaur discovered in Australia. It has been suggested that Australovenator is a sister taxon to Fukuiraptor, although some phylogenetic analyses find it to be a more derived member of the Megaraptora, possibly being part of the main Megaraptoridae family itself.

  1. ^ a b White, M. A.; Falkingham, P. L.; Cook, A. G.; Hocknull, S. A.; Elliott, D. A. (2013). "Morphological comparisons of metacarpal I for Australovenator wintonensis and Rapator ornitholestoides: Implications for their taxonomic relationships". Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology. 37 (4): 435–441. doi:10.1080/03115518.2013.770221. S2CID 82672110.