Open Paleo

Liaoningvenator

Shen et al., 2017 lee-YOW-ning-VEN-uh-tuh

Named after Liaoning Province, China combined with Latin venator (hunter); meaning "Liaoning hunter"

125.8–121.4 million years ago Barremian, Early Cretaceous
Early Cretaceous stages

Liaoningvenator is a genus of troodontid theropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of China. It contains a single species, L. curriei, named after paleontologist Phillip J. Currie in 2017 by Shen Cai-Zhi and colleagues from an articulated, nearly complete skeleton, one of the most complete troodontid specimens known. Shen and colleagues found indicative traits that placed Liaoningvenator within the Troodontidae. These traits included its numerous, small, and closely packed teeth, as well as the vertebrae towards the end of its tail having shallow grooves in place of neural spines on their top surfaces.

Under dispute

Liaoningvenator was originally recovered by its describers in a clade with the anchiornithids (Shen and colleagues, 2017), but is placed in Jinfengopteryginae by Sellés and colleagues (2021) and near the base of Troodontinae by Hartman and colleagues (2019). It is placed in Jinfengopteryginae following the most recent dedicated analysis.

Diagnosis

  1. Prominent slender triradiate postorbital
  2. Deltopectoral crest distinctly extended to the half of the humeral shaft

Species

Liaoningvenator curriei Shen et al., 2017

Type species

Named for paleontologist Phillip J. Currie, honored in the genitive Latin '-i' suffix.

Holotype
DNHM D3012 , Xinghai Paleontological Museum of Dalian
Material
Nearly complete, well-preserved articulated skeleton
Horizon
lower Yixian Formation, Barremian, Early Cretaceous , 125.8–121.4 million years ago
Locality
Lujiatun, Shangyuan, Beipiao City, Liaoning, China

References

  1. Shen, C. Z.; Zhao, B.; Gao, C. L.; Lü, J. C.; Kundrát, M. (2017). A new troodontid dinosaur (Liaoningvenator curriei gen. et sp. nov.) from the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation in western Liaoning Province. Acta Geoscientica Sinica 38(3): 359-371. doi:10.3975/cagsb.2017.03.06 shen2017a
  2. Paul, G. S. (2024). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs (3rd ed.). Princeton University Press.

    Source of the body length and mass estimates.

    paul2024a
  3. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Theropods. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the hip height estimate.

    jones2026c
  4. Sellés, A. G.; Vila, B.; Brusatte, S. L.; Currie, P. J.; Galobart, À. (2021). A fast-growing basal troodontid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the latest Cretaceous of Europe. Scientific Reports 11(1). Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-83745-5

    Placed Liaoningvenator in Jinfengopteryginae.

    sellés2021a
  5. Hartman, S.; Mortimer, M.; Wahl, W. R.; Lomax, D. R.; Lippincott, J.; Lovelace, D. M. (2019). A new paravian dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of North America supports a late acquisition of avian flight. PeerJ 7: e7247. PeerJ. doi:10.7717/peerj.7247

    Recovered Liaoningvenator near the base of Troodontinae.

    hartman2019a
  6. Zhong, Y.; Huyskens, M. H.; Yin, Q. Z.; Wang, Y.; Ma, Q.; Xu, Y. G. (2021). High-precision geochronological constraints on the duration of 'Dinosaur Pompeii' and the Yixian Formation. National Science Review 8(6): nwab063. doi:10.1093/nsr/nwab063

    Dates the base of the Yixian Formation, the Lujiatun Unit that yielded the holotype, to 125.755 Ma: Barremian on the ICS chart v2024/12 at its central value; its error reaches the Hauterivian.

    zhong2021a
  7. Gale, A. S.; Mutterlose, J.; Batenburg, S.; Gradstein, F. M.; Agterberg, F. P.; Ogg, J. G.; Petrizzo, M. R. (2020). The Cretaceous Period. Geologic Time Scale 2020 (Gradstein, F. M.; Ogg, J. G.; Schmitz, M. D.; Ogg, G. M., eds) 1023-1086. Elsevier, Amsterdam. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-824360-2.00027-9

    Gives the GTS2020 Barremian span, 126.5 to 121.4 Ma; the ICS chart v2024/12 starts the stage at 125.77 Ma.

    gale2020a