Open Paleo

Duriavenator

Benson, 2008 doo-REE-a-veh-NAY-tuhr

From 'Duria', the Latinized name for Dorset (derived from the River Dour), combined with Latin 'venator' meaning 'hunter', meaning 'Dorset hunter'.

170.9–168.2 million years ago Bajocian, Middle Jurassic
Middle Jurassic stages

Duriavenator is a genus of theropod dinosaur that lived in what is now England during the Middle Jurassic, about 168 million years ago. In 1882, upper and lower jaw bones of a dinosaur were collected near Sherborne in Dorset, and Richard Owen considered the fossils to belong to the species Megalosaurus bucklandii, the first named non-bird dinosaur. By 1964, the specimen was recognized as belonging to a different species, and in 1974 it was described as a new species of Megalosaurus, M. hesperis; the specific name means 'the West' or 'western'. Later researchers questioned whether the species belonged to Megalosaurus, in which many fragmentary theropods from around the world had historically been placed. After examining the taxonomic issues surrounding Megalosaurus, Roger B. J. Benson moved M. hesperis to its own genus in 2008, Duriavenator; this name means "Dorset hunter".

Diagnosis

  1. Deep groove on dorsal surface of jugal process of maxilla containing numerous pneumatic foramina.
  2. Array of small foramina (~11, ~2 mm diameter) in ventral part of articular surface of maxilla for premaxilla.
  3. Enlarged, subcircular third dentary alveolus with subcylindrical, anteriorly inclined anterior dentary teeth.
  4. Anterior Meckelian foramen located almost directly anterior to the posterior Meckelian foramen.
  5. Prominent lip bounding the Meckelian groove ventrally, anterior to the Meckelian fossa.

Species

Duriavenator hesperis Benson, 2008

Type species

From Ancient Greek 'hesperos' meaning 'the West' or 'western', reflecting that the specimen came from the western part of the area studied at the time.

Holotype
NHM R332 , Natural History Museum
Material
Premaxillae, right maxilla, vomer, paired dentaries, right surangular, fragmentary unidentified elements, and associated teeth.
Horizon
Inferior Oolite Group, Bajocian, Middle Jurassic , 170.9–168.2 million years ago
Locality
Greenhill, Sherborne, Dorset, United Kingdom Benson (2008) gives the horizon as the "Upper Inferior Oolite, Parkinsonia parkinsoni ammonite Zone, Garantiana garantiana Subzone", late Bajocian.

Synonyms of the genus

Name Type Reason
Walkersaurus nomen nudum Proposed by Welles and Powell in the 1970s for the species now placed in Duriavenator; never formally published.

References

  1. Benson, R. B. J. (2008). A redescription of 'Megalosaurus' hesperis (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from the Inferior Oolite (Bajocian, Middle Jurassic) of Dorset, United Kingdom. Zootaxa 1931(1). Magnolia Press. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1931.1.5 benson2008a
  2. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Theropods. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the hip height estimate.

    jones2026c