Australovenator
From Latin australis meaning 'southern' + Latin venator meaning 'hunter'; overall meaning 'southern hunter', referring to its discovery in Australia.
Australovenator is a genus of megaraptoran theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Winton Formation (Cenomanian, 95 million years ago) of Australia. Some specimens from the Albian-aged Eumeralla Formation and the Wonthaggi Formation may belong to Australovenator. It is known from partial cranial and postcranial remains, which were described in 2009 by Scott Hocknull and colleagues, although additional descriptions and analyses continue to be published. It is the most complete predatory dinosaur discovered in Australia. It has been suggested that Australovenator is a sister taxon to Fukuiraptor, although some phylogenetic analyses find it to be a more derived member of the Megaraptora, possibly being part of the main Megaraptoridae family itself.
Diagnosis
- Ulna with straight caudal margin, inflated olecranon process, lateral groove along diaphysis, and round discontinuous lateral tuberosity
- Lesser trochanter of femur developed proximally to the level of the greater trochanter
- Proximal articular surface of fibula bevelled cranially with a triangular cranio-distal process projecting from the proximal end
- Dentary gracile with sub-parallel margins, rounded symphysis, and primary neurovascular foramina row parallel to dorsal margin not deflected ventrally
- Astragalus with tall ascending process, medially expanded medial condyle, superior and inferior grooves on cranial face, and cranio-lateral process projecting from proximo-cranial margin of lateral condyle
- Metatarsals elongate and gracile with Mt III bearing a mediolaterally compressed proximal articular end
Species
Australovenator wintonensis Hocknull et al., 2009
Type species
Named for nearby Winton, the town in Queensland, Australia, near where the holotype was found.
- Holotype
- AODF 604 , Australian Age of Dinosaurs Fossil Museum of Natural History
- Material
- Nine isolated teeth; left dentary; right and left dorsal ribs and rib fragments; right and left gastralial ribs and fragments; partial right ilium; both ulnae; right radius; manus metacarpals, phalanges and unguals; right femur; both tibiae; right fibula; right astragalus; metatarsals, phalanges and unguals
- Horizon
- upper Winton Formation, Albian–Turonian, Early Cretaceous–Late Cretaceous , 113.2–89.8 million years ago
- Locality
- Matilda Site, Elderslie Station, Queensland, Australia Hocknull and colleagues (2009) date the Matilda Site "latest Albian"; Poropat and colleagues (2014) give it as Cenomanian from a detrital-zircon age, and Poropat and colleagues (2021) as Cenomanian to lower Turonian.
References
-
Poropat, S. F.; Upchurch, P.; Mannion, P. D.; Hocknull, S. A.; Kear, B. P.; Sloan, T.; Sinapius, G. H. K.; Elliot, D. A. (2014). Revision of the sauropod dinosaur Diamantinasaurus matildae Hocknull et al. 2009 from the mid-Cretaceous of Australia: Implications for Gondwanan titanosauriform dispersal. Gondwana Research 27(3): 995-1033. doi:10.1016/j.gr.2014.03.014
Gives the Matilda Site as Cenomanian, from a maximum age for the sandstone overlying the bonebed.
poropat2014a -
Poropat, S. F.; Kundrát, M.; Mannion, P. D.; Upchurch, P.; Tischler, T. R.; Elliott, D. A. (2021). Second specimen of the Late Cretaceous Australian sauropod dinosaur Diamantinasaurus matildae provides new anatomical information on the skull and neck of early titanosaurs. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 192: 610-674. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa173
Gives the site's individuals as from the "Cenomanian–lower Turonian 'upper' Winton Formation".
poropat2021a - Hocknull, S. A.; White, M. A.; Tischler, T. R.; Cook, A. G.; Calleja, N. D.; Sloan, T.; Elliott, D. A. (2009). New Mid-Cretaceous (Latest Albian) Dinosaurs from Winton, Queensland, Australia. PLoS ONE 4(7): e6190. Public Library of Science (PLoS). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0006190 hocknull2009a