Taurovenator
"bull hunter"
Type species Taurovenator violantei
- Lived
- Early Cretaceous
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Group
- Theropods, Carcharodontosauridae
- Found in
- Argentina
- Named by
- Motta et al. 2016
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
Habitat
Winding rivers crossed a warm landscape with strongly seasonal weather in Argentina. The Huincul Formation preserves conifer and cycad trunks, along with Argentinosaurus, Mapusaurus and Skorpiovenator.
Field notes
About Taurovenator
What it was like
Taurovenator was a large meat eater from the same family as Giganotosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus, big predators with long skulls and blade-like teeth. For years it was known only from a single bone from above the eye, which carried a rough, swollen ridge.
Its world
It lived in the Cretaceous in what is now Argentina, in the rocks of the Huincul Formation. The same formation has produced the giant plant eater Argentinosaurus and the hunters Mapusaurus, Meraxes and Skorpiovenator.
How it was found
Motta and colleagues named Taurovenator in 2016. Because the first find was so small, some scientists thought it might belong to Mapusaurus instead. A second, more complete find has since added more of the skull and skeleton and made the case for a separate genus stronger.
Field gallery
More views of Taurovenator
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
1 of 3
The evidence
The science behind Taurovenator
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- The original find is a single bone from above the eye, with a rounded, horn-like brow projection and a deep hollow on its underside.
- A partial skeleton found nearby is provisionally referred to Taurovenator, though it shares no bone with the original find. It has pieces from the back of the skull, tall neck bones with overlapping, expanded tips, and parts of the body and hind leg.
- The referred skeleton has short, stout forearms and small hands with relatively long finger bones, strong muscle attachments and well-developed joints.
Borrowed from relatives
- Missing parts of the skull and body are restored by comparison with Giganotosaurus, Mapusaurus and Meraxes.
Still unknown
- Whether the partial skeleton and the original eye-region bone belong to the same species.
- Its skin covering and color.
- How it used its short arms.
Discovery timeline
- 2016Named itMotta et al.
- 2020Close relativeCoria et al.
- 2022Close relativeCanale et al.
- 2024Full descriptionRolando et al.
- 2025Family treeKellermann, Cuesta & Rauhut
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Taurovenator
Named it
Named Taurovenator from an eye-region bone as part of a diverse meat-eating dinosaur fauna from the Huincul Formation.
New theropod fauna from the Upper Cretaceous (Huincul Formation) of northwestern Patagonia, Argentina. Cretaceous Period: Biotic Diversity and Biogeography. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 71: 231-253
No link available
Close relative
Described Lajasvenator and argued that the features used to define Taurovenator also occur in Mapusaurus, so the two may be the same animal.
An Early Cretaceous, medium-sized carcharodontosaurid theropod (Dinosauria, Saurischia) from the Mulichinco Formation (upper Valanginian), Neuquén Province, Patagonia, Argentina. Cretaceous Research 111: 104319
Read the paper : An Early Cretaceous, medium-sized carcharodontosaurid theropod (Dinosauria, Saurischia) from the Mulichinco Formation (upper Valanginian), Neuquén Province, Patagonia, Argentina (opens in a new tab)Close relative
Described Meraxes from the same formation and showed that short arms evolved alongside large skulls in several groups of giant predators.
New giant carnivorous dinosaur reveals convergent evolutionary trends in theropod arm reduction. Current Biology 32: 3195-3202.e5
Read the paper : New giant carnivorous dinosaur reveals convergent evolutionary trends in theropod arm reduction (opens in a new tab)Full description
Described a partial skeleton referred to Taurovenator, with unusually tall neck bones, short forearms and strongly jointed fingers, and argued that Taurovenator is a separate genus.
A new carcharodontosaurid specimen sheds light on the anatomy of South American giant predatory dinosaurs. The Science of Nature 111
Read the paper : A new carcharodontosaurid specimen sheds light on the anatomy of South American giant predatory dinosaurs (opens in a new tab)Family tree
A new family tree of big meat eaters kept Taurovenator apart from Mapusaurus, though it could not rule out that they are the same.
Re-evaluation of the Bahariya Formation carcharodontosaurid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) and its implications for allosauroid phylogeny. PLOS ONE 20: e0311096
Read the paper : Re-evaluation of the Bahariya Formation carcharodontosaurid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) and its implications for allosauroid phylogeny (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Carcharodontosauridae
Sources: Wikidata