Open Paleo

Arcovenator

Tortosa et al., 2014 ahr-KO-veh-NAY-tuhr

From the river Arc (flowing near the discovery site in France) + Latin venator meaning 'hunter'; overall meaning 'Arc hunter'.

83.6–72.2 million years ago Campanian, Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous stages

Arcovenator is an extinct genus of abelisaurid theropod dinosaurs hailing from the Late Cretaceous of France and possibly Spain. The type and only described species is Arcovenator escotae. Its name derives from the river Arc flowing near the site of its first discovery.

Under dispute

Arcovenator is placed in Majungasaurinae by its describers (Tortosa and colleagues, 2014) and most analyses, but Pol and colleagues (2024) instead recovered it within Brachyrostra.

Diagnosis

  1. Median dorsal foramen between the frontals (autapomorphy)
  2. Postorbital forming a strong rugose, dorsolaterally developed supraorbital brow (autapomorphy)
  3. Thin bony expansion between the ventral and posterior rami of the postorbital (autapomorphy)
  4. Paroccipital processes bounded dorsally and ventrally by two horizontal bars forming a depression lateral to the foramen magnum (autapomorphy)
  5. Basipterygoid process laterally directed (autapomorphy)
  6. Slightly proximally anterodorsally curved fibular crest (autapomorphy)

Species

Arcovenator escotae Tortosa et al., 2014

Type species

Named for Escota, the motorway concession company that provided the necessary funds to excavate the locality since 2006.

Holotype
MHNA-PV-2011.12.1, MHNA-PV-2011.12.2, MHNA-PV-2011.12.3, MHNA-PV-2011.12.4, MHNA-PV-2011.12.5, MHNA-PV-2011.12.15 , Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle d'Aix-en-Provence
Material
Complete basicranium articulated with right postorbital; left squamosal; a tooth; an anterior caudal vertebra; right tibia; right fibula
Horizon
Lower Argiles Rutilantes Formation, Campanian, Late Cretaceous , 83.6–72.2 million years ago
Locality
Jas Neuf Sud, Var, France

References

  1. Tortosa, T.; Buffetaut, E.; Vialle, N.; Dutour, Y.; Turini, E.; Cheylan, G. (2014). A new abelisaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of southern France: Palaeobiogeographical implications. Annales de Paléontologie 100(1): 63-86. Elsevier BV. doi:10.1016/j.annpal.2013.10.003 tortosa2014a
  2. Pol, D.; Baiano, M. A.; Černý, D.; Novas, F. E.; Cerda, I. A.; Pittman, M. (2024). A new abelisaurid dinosaur from the end Cretaceous of Patagonia and evolutionary rates among the Ceratosauria. Cladistics 40(3): 307-356. Wiley. doi:10.1111/cla.12583

    Recovered Arcovenator within Brachyrostra rather than Majungasaurinae.

    pol2024a
  3. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Theropods. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the mass and hip height estimates, and the appearance features.

    jones2026c