Natovenator
"swimming hunter"
Type species Natovenator polydontus
- Lived
- 84 to 72 million years ago, Late Cretaceous
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Group
- Theropods, Dromaeosauridae
- Found in
- Mongolia
- Named by
- Lee et al. 2022
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
80 million years ago
Habitat
The Baruungoyot Formation records sand dunes, streams, ponds and lakes in a dry landscape. Saichania and Tarchia lived in the same region.
Field notes
About Natovenator
What it was like
Natovenator was a small, long-necked feathered dinosaur from a strange branch of the raptor family. Its ribs were swept back, as in diving birds, which suggests its body was streamlined for swimming.
It may have hunted fish or other small animals in water, much like its relative Halszkaraptor.
Its world
It lived in the Late Cretaceous in what is now Mongolia. Its bones come from the Baruungoyot Formation, where it shared the land with the armored Saichania and Tarchia.
How it was found
Lee and colleagues named Natovenator polydontus in 2022, from a single skeleton with a skull. Its species name refers to its many teeth.
Field gallery
More views of Natovenator
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
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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 Natovenator.
The evidence
The science behind Natovenator
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- A partial skeleton with a skull shows a long neck and jaws crowded with small teeth.
- Its ribs swept backward and formed a broad, flattened chest, a shape that probably helped it swim.
Borrowed from relatives
- A feather covering is inferred from feathered raptors such as Velociraptor.
- Its close relative Halszkaraptor provides comparisons for the long neck and possible swimming habits.
Still unknown
- How it propelled itself through water.
- Which animals it ate.
- Its feather colors and whether its feet were webbed.
Discovery timeline
- 2007Close relativeTurner, Makovicky & Norell
- 2017Close relativeCau et al.
- 2022Named itLee et al.
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Natovenator
Close relative
Found feather attachment bumps on a Velociraptor forearm, supporting feathers in flightless raptors.
Feather quill knobs in the dinosaur Velociraptor. Science 317: 1721
Read the paper : Feather quill knobs in the dinosaur Velociraptor (opens in a new tab)Close relative
Described Halszkaraptor and proposed a swimming lifestyle from its unusual neck, teeth and forelimbs.
Synchrotron scanning reveals amphibious ecomorphology in a new clade of bird-like dinosaurs. Nature 552: 395-399
Read the paper : Synchrotron scanning reveals amphibious ecomorphology in a new clade of bird-like dinosaurs (opens in a new tab)Named it
Described a long-necked raptor whose swept-back ribs suggest a streamlined body suited to swimming.
A non-avian dinosaur with a streamlined body exhibits potential adaptations for swimming. Communications Biology 5
Read the paper : A non-avian dinosaur with a streamlined body exhibits potential adaptations for swimming (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Dromaeosauridae
Sources: Wikidata