Fukuivenator
"Fukui hunter"
Type species Fukuivenator paradoxus
- Lived
- 121 to 113 million years ago, Early Cretaceous
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Group
- Theropods
- Found in
- Japan
- Named by
- Azuma et al. 2016
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
115 million years ago
Habitat
Meandering rivers crossed a floodplain in the Kitadani Formation, where conifers and cycads grew. Fukuiraptor, Fukuisaurus and Fukuititan also occur in these rocks.
Field notes
About Fukuivenator
What it was like
Fukuivenator was a small feathered theropod with a strange mix of features, which is why its species name means "puzzling". Its teeth and skeleton look partly like those of meat eaters and partly like those of plant eaters.
Scientists now think it was an early relative of the therizinosaurs, the long-clawed plant eaters, and that it probably ate both plants and small animals.
Its world
It lived about 121 to 113 million years ago, in the Early Cretaceous, in what is now Japan. Its bones come from the Kitadani Formation, where it shared the land with the hunter Fukuiraptor, the plant eater Fukuisaurus and the long-necked Fukuititan.
How it was found
Azuma and colleagues named Fukuivenator paradoxus in 2016, from a single skeleton, one of the most complete dinosaurs found in Japan.
Field gallery
More views of Fukuivenator
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
1 of 2
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 Fukuivenator.
The evidence
The science behind Fukuivenator
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- Much of a single skeleton preserves a moderately long neck, a tapering tail and grasping hands.
- Its teeth had different shapes and lacked sawlike edges.
- The middle hand claw was longest, while the thumb claw was thicker and more strongly curved.
Borrowed from relatives
- Most of the body follows its own bones; Haplocheirus provides a comparison for the missing front of the snout.
- Simple feathers are inferred from Beipiaosaurus, a broader relative with preserved filaments.
Still unknown
- The complete shape of the front of its snout.
- Its exact position in the dinosaur family tree.
- Its feather covering, color and precise diet.
Often drawn wrong
- Its foot claws were moderately sized; it had no giant raised sickle claw like a dromaeosaur.
- Its known teeth should not be replaced with a broad, toothless beak.
Discovery timeline
- 2009Close relativeXu, Zheng & You
- 2014Close relativeChoiniere et al.
- 2016Named itAzuma et al.
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Fukuivenator
Close relative
Documented simple feather filaments in Beipiaosaurus, supporting a feather covering as a possibility for Fukuivenator.
A new feather type in a nonavian theropod and the early evolution of feathers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 106: 832-834
Read the paper : A new feather type in a nonavian theropod and the early evolution of feathers (opens in a new tab)Close relative
Described the tooth-bearing skull of Haplocheirus, a comparison for the missing front of the Fukuivenator snout.
Cranial Osteology ofHaplocheirus sollersChoiniere et al., 2010 (Theropoda: Alvarezsauroidea). American Museum Novitates 3816: 1-44
Read the paper : Cranial Osteology ofHaplocheirus sollersChoiniere et al., 2010 (Theropoda: Alvarezsauroidea) (opens in a new tab)Named it
Named Fukuivenator from a largely preserved skeleton with an unusual mixture of features and differently shaped teeth.
A bizarre theropod from the Early Cretaceous of Japan highlighting mosaic evolution among coelurosaurians. Scientific Reports 6
Read the paper : A bizarre theropod from the Early Cretaceous of Japan highlighting mosaic evolution among coelurosaurians (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Therizinosauria
Sources: Wikidata