Lusovenator
"Portuguese hunter"
Type species Lusovenator santosi
- Lived
- 152 to 143 million years ago, Late Jurassic
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Group
- Theropods
- Found in
- Portugal
- Named by
- Malafaia et al. 2020
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
150 million years ago
Habitat
Rivers crossed low plains in Late Jurassic Portugal, leaving layers of sand, silt and mud. Dacentrurus, Stegosaurus and Zby lived in the region.
Field notes
About Lusovenator
What it was like
Lusovenator was a medium-sized meat eater known from part of a skeleton. It belongs to the carcharodontosaurs, the family of big-toothed hunters that later produced giants such as Giganotosaurus.
It is one of the oldest members of that group, which shows that the family had already appeared in the Jurassic.
Its world
It lived in the Late Jurassic, around 152 million years ago or a little later, in what is now Portugal. It shared the land with the stegosaurs Dacentrurus and Stegosaurus, the armored Dracopelta and the long-necked Zby.
How it was found
Malafaia and colleagues named Lusovenator santosi in 2020, from two finds.
Field gallery
More views of Lusovenator
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
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 Lusovenator.
The evidence
The science behind Lusovenator
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- The original partial skeleton preserves neck, back and tail vertebrae, ribs and hip bones.
- Another skeleton preserves a connected stretch of tail and an almost complete foot.
- Deep hollows in its back vertebrae, ridges on its tail bones and a projecting hip shelf help distinguish it from other meat eaters.
Borrowed from relatives
- Restorations borrow the missing skull and arms from related allosauroids, using comparisons with Allosaurus and other early members of the group.
Still unknown
- The complete shape of its skull.
- How large a fully grown Lusovenator became.
- Its skin covering and color.
Discovery timeline
- 2016Growing upMalafaia et al.
- 2018New findMalafaia et al.
- 2020Named itMalafaia et al.
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Lusovenator
Growing up
Described the juvenile skeleton later named Lusovenator and compared its backbone and hips with those of other allosauroids.
A juvenile allosauroid theropod (Dinosauria, Saurischia) from the Upper Jurassic of Portugal. Historical Biology 29: 654-676
Read the paper : A juvenile allosauroid theropod (Dinosauria, Saurischia) from the Upper Jurassic of Portugal (opens in a new tab)New find
Described a partial skeleton with a connected tail and nearly complete foot, later assigned to Lusovenator.
Carcharodontosaurian remains (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from the Upper Jurassic of Portugal. Journal of Paleontology 93: 157-172
Read the paper : Carcharodontosaurian remains (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from the Upper Jurassic of Portugal (opens in a new tab)Named it
Named Lusovenator from previously described skeletons and identified it as an early member of the carcharodontosaurs.
A new carcharodontosaurian theropod from the Lusitanian Basin: evidence of allosauroid sympatry in the European Late Jurassic. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 40
Read the paper : A new carcharodontosaurian theropod from the Lusitanian Basin: evidence of allosauroid sympatry in the European Late Jurassic (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Carcharodontosauria
Sources: Wikidata