Outline: a typical theropod
Anteavis
"before birds"
Type species Anteavis crurilongus
- Lived
- 237 to 227 million years ago, Late Triassic
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Group
- Theropods
- Found in
- Argentina
- Named by
- Martínez et al. 2025
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
230 million years ago
Field notes
About Anteavis
What it was like
Anteavis was a small, early two-legged meat eater, known from a partial skeleton and skull. It had long lower legs, which suggests it was a fast runner.
It is one of the oldest theropods, the group of dinosaurs that later gave rise to birds, and its name marks that place near the start of the line.
Its world
It lived about 237 to 227 million years ago, in the Late Triassic, in what is now Argentina. Its fossil comes from the Ischigualasto Formation, which holds some of the oldest dinosaurs known, including Herrerasaurus, Eoraptor, Eodromaeus and Sanjuansaurus.
How it was found
Anteavis crurilongus was named in 2025, from a single find.
Lived alongside
Found in the same rock formations
Close relatives
Other members of Theropoda
Sources: WikidataNamed in: R. N. Martínez, C. E. Colombi, and M. D. Ezcurra, D. O. Abelín, I. Cerda, O. A. Alcober. 2025. A Carnian theropod with unexpectedly derived features during the first dinosaur radiation. Nature Ecology & Evolution 9:2238-2247