Open Paleo

Lucianovenator

Martínez & Apaldetti, 2017 loo-chee-AH-no-VEN-uh-tuh

Named for Don Luciano Leyes, who first reported the fossil remains, combined with Latin 'venator' meaning 'hunter'.

227.3–205.7 million years ago Norian, Late Triassic
Late Triassic stages

Lucianovenator is an extinct genus of coelophysid theropod dinosaur which lived in Argentina during the Triassic. The genus name Lucianovenator translates to "Luciano's hunter", in reference to Don Luciano Leyes, who first reported the remains. The species name bonoi refers to Tulio del Bono, a local scientific authority who collaborated on the describers' research. It is one of the few neotheropods known from South America.

Under dispute

Lucianovenator bonoi is recovered as a coelophysid close to Coelophysis and Camposaurus by some analyses (Martínez and Apaldetti, 2017; Ezcurra and colleagues, 2020) but as a non-coelophysid coelophysoid by others (Spiekman and colleagues, 2021).

Diagnosis

  1. Cervical neural arches with three deep fossae: two blind pockets in prezygapophyseal centrodiapophyseal fossa and a third communicating with internal neural cavity in centropostzygapophyseal fossa
  2. Anteroposteriorly elongated fossa on posterior centrodiapophyseal lamina edge progressively deepening and enlarging from C3 to C9
  3. Length of anterior cervical ribs equivalent to five cervical centra
  4. Cervical vertebrae extremely elongated (>3× longer than posterior articular surface height)
  5. Deeply concave posterior articular face of cervical centra

Species

Lucianovenator bonoi Martínez & Apaldetti, 2017

Type species

Named for Tulio del Bono, a local scientific authority in Argentina who collaborated on the research that described this species.

Holotype
PVSJ 906 , División de Paleontología de Vertebrados del Museo de Ciencias Naturales y Universidad Nacional de San Juan
Material
Articulated vertebral sequence from C3 to D4, sacrum of five co-ossified vertebrae, pelvis lacking distal pubis and ischium ends
Horizon
upper Quebrada del Barro Formation, Norian, Late Triassic , 227.3–205.7 million years ago
Locality
Quebrada del Puma, San Juan, Argentina

References

  1. Martínez, R. N.; Apaldetti, C. (2017). A Late Norian-Rhaetian Coelophysid Neotheropod (Dinosauria, Saurischia) from the Quebrada Del Barro Formation, Northwestern Argentina. Ameghiniana 54(5): 488-505. Asociacion Paleontologica Argentina. doi:10.5710/amgh.09.04.2017.3065 martínez2017a
  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. Ezcurra, M. D.; Butler, R. J.; Maidment, S. C. R.; Sansom, I. J.; Meade, L. E.; Radley, J. D. (2020). A revision of the early neotheropod genus Sarcosaurus from the Early Jurassic (Hettangian-Sinemurian) of central England. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 191: 113-149. Oxford University Press (OUP). doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa054

    Neotheropod revision recovering Lucianovenator as a non-coelophysid coelophysoid.

    ezcurra2020a
  4. Spiekman, S. N. F.; Ezcurra, M. D.; Butler, R. J.; Fraser, N. C.; Maidment, S. C. R. (2021). Pendraig milnerae, a new small-sized coelophysoid theropod from the Late Triassic of Wales. Royal Society Open Science 8(10). The Royal Society. doi:10.1098/rsos.210915

    New coelophysoid description bearing on Lucianovenator's phylogenetic position.

    spiekman2021a