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Australovenator, Late CretaceousWinton Formation, Australia · named 2009
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Australovenator

"southern hunter"

Type species Australovenator wintonensis

Lived
101 to 90 million years ago, Late Cretaceous
Diet
Carnivore
Group
Theropods, Megaraptoridae
Found in
Australia
Named by
Hocknull et al. 2009

Where its fossils were found

The evidence

Today

2 finds

95 million years ago

Map: C. R. Scotese, PALEOMAP

Habitat

Rivers, lakes and wooded lowlands in the Winton Formation of Australia supported flowering plants and ferns. The sauropods Diamantinasaurus, Wintonotitan and Savannasaurus lived in this region.

Field notes

About Australovenator

What it was like

Australovenator was a megaraptor, a slender, fast meat eater with three large, curved claws on each hand. It is known from a partial skeleton with much of the arms and legs, one of the most complete meat-eating dinosaurs found in Australia.

Its long legs suggest it was a quick runner, and its big hand claws were probably its main weapons.

Its world

It lived in the Late Cretaceous in what is now Australia. Its bones come from the Winton Formation, where it shared the land with the titanosaurs Diamantinasaurus, Wintonotitan and Savannasaurus.

How it was found

Hocknull and colleagues named Australovenator in 2009. Its bones were found at the same site as Diamantinasaurus.

Field gallery

More views of Australovenator

Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.

Australovenator in its habitat, photo 1

1 of 3

Lived alongside

Found in the same rock formations

A rock formation can hold fossils laid down millions of years apart, so not every animal here met Australovenator.

The evidence

The science behind Australovenator

Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.

From its own fossils

  • A partial skeleton preserves the slender tooth-bearing bones of both lower jaws, teeth, ribs, part of the hip, much of the arms and hands, and the legs and feet.
  • Its first two hand claws are big, curved and close in size, and the third is smaller. The thumb claw is narrow from side to side.
  • Its arm joints allowed a wide reach and could fold the hands toward its chest.

Borrowed from relatives

  • Missing parts of the head and trunk are restored using other megaraptors, such as Megaraptor and Murusraptor.
  • An emu's foot has helped researchers restore the pads, tendons and claw coverings around its fossil foot bones.

Still unknown

  • The complete shape of its skull.
  • Where megaraptors fit in the meat-eater family tree. Experts still disagree.
  • Its skin covering and color.

Discovery timeline

  1. 2009Named itHocknull et al.
  2. 2012New findWhite et al.
  3. 2013New findWhite et al.
  4. 2015SkullWhite et al.
  5. 2015How it fedWhite et al.
  6. 2016PostureWhite et al.

Key papers

The research behind what we know of Australovenator

Close relatives

Other members of Megaraptoridae

Sources: Wikidata