Open Paleo

Erythrovenator

Müller, 2021 eh-RITH-ro-VEN-uh-tuh

From Greek erythros (ερυθρός), 'red', + Latin venator, 'hunter'; means 'red hunter', likely referring to the red mudstone in which the fossil was found

237.0–205.7 million years ago Carnian–Norian, Late Triassic
Late Triassic stages

Erythrovenator is a genus of basal theropod dinosaurs from the Late Triassic of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The genus contains a single species, Erythrovenator jacuiensis.

Diagnosis

  1. Absence of a raised dorsolateral trochanter of the femur (local autapomorphy)
  2. Pyramidal shape of the anterior trochanter in anterior view
  3. Absence of a folded anteromedial tuber
  4. Anterior trochanter separated from the femoral shaft by a marked cleft
  5. Medial portion of the anterior trochanter projects medially forming a plate-like structure, separated from shaft by a longitudinal sulcus

Species

Erythrovenator jacuiensis Müller, 2021

Type species

Named for the Jacuí River in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, near where the holotype was discovered.

Holotype
CAPPA/UFSM 0157 , Centro de Apoio à Pesquisa Paleontológica da Quarta Colônia, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria
Material
Proximal portion of a left femur
Horizon
Carnian–Norian, Late Triassic , 237.0–205.7 million years ago
Locality
Niemeyer Site, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil Müller (2021) places the holotype in the Candelária Sequence of the Santa Maria Supersequence, a sequence-stratigraphic unit rather than a formation.

References

  1. Müller, R. T. (2021). A new theropod dinosaur from a peculiar Late Triassic assemblage of southern Brazil. Journal of South American Earth Sciences 107: 103026. Elsevier BV. doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2020.103026 müller2021a
  2. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Theropods. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the body length, mass, and hip height estimates.

    jones2026c