Open Paleo

Skorpiovenator

Canale et al., 2009 SKOHR-pee-o-VEN-uh-tuh

From Greek skorpios, "scorpion", combined with Latin venator, "hunter" — means "scorpion hunter", named because the excavation site was infested with scorpions

100.5–89.8 million years ago Cenomanian–Turonian, Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous stages

Skorpiovenator is a genus of abelisaurid theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian to Turonian) Huincul Formation of Argentina. The sole species of Skorpiovenator, S. bustingorryi, was named in honor of Manuel Bustingorry, the late owner of the farm on which the type specimen was discovered. Formally described in 2009, the type specimen is one of the most complete and informative abelisaurids yet known, described from a nearly complete and articulated skeleton. A tibia fragment was assigned to Skorpiovenator in 2022.

Diagnosis

  1. Ascending process of maxilla homogeneously wide rostrocaudally
  2. Maxillary horizontal ramus dorsoventrally deep with subparallel dorsal and ventral margins
  3. 19 maxillary teeth, the highest maxillary tooth count of any abelisaurid
  4. Angular with rostral end dorsoventrally deep, fitting between the splenial and prearticular
  5. Antorbital fossa restricted to the maxilla, absent from the nasal and lacrimal
  6. Double dorsal protuberances over each frontal
  7. Quadratojugal with a thick jugal process, rounded in cross-section, laterally procumbent and covered by strong external rugosities
  8. 21 dentary teeth, the highest dentary tooth count of any abelisaurid
  9. Retroarticular fossa of the articular anteroposteriorly longer than lateromedially wide, divided by a strongly oblique crest
  10. Dorsal margin of the central iliac blade convex in lateral view
  11. Preacetabular blade subrectangular in lateral contour
  12. Subvertically oriented swelling of the iliac blade at the level of the acetabulum
  13. Tibial lateral condyle one-third wider than the medial condyle, with a flattened caudal margin in proximal view
  14. Rounded, deep pit on the proximolateral surface of pedal digit IV phalanges 1-3

Species

Skorpiovenator bustingorryi Canale et al., 2009

Type species

Named for Manuel Bustingorry, the late owner of the farm in Neuquén Province, Argentina, on which the type specimen was discovered.

Holotype
MMCH-Pv 48 , Museo Municipal ‘Ernesto Bachman’, Villa El Chocón
Material
Almost complete articulated skeleton lacking both pectoral girdles, the forelimbs, and the distal two-thirds of the tail; skull nearly complete with the jaws articulated in occlusion
Horizon
lower Huincul Formation, Cenomanian–Turonian, Late Cretaceous , 100.5–89.8 million years ago
Locality
Bustingorry's farm, Neuquén, Argentina

Notable specimens

  • MMCH-Pv 255

    Museo Municipal ‘Ernesto Bachman’, Villa El Chocón complementary

    The proximal end of a right tibia from a larger individual, found 2 kilometers west of the holotype at almost the same stratigraphic level. It preserves a complete hatchet-shaped cnemial crest, which both holotype tibiae lack, and shares the autapomorphic lateral condyle.

    Cerroni et al. (2022)Canale et al. (2026)

References

  1. Canale, J. I.; Scanferla, C. A.; Agnolín, F. L.; Novas, F. E. (2009). New carnivorous dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of NW Patagonia and the evolution of abelisaurid theropods. Naturwissenschaften 96(3): 409-414. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1007/s00114-008-0487-4 canale2009a
  2. Cerroni, M. A.; Canale, J. I.; Novas, F. E.; Paulina-Carabajal, A. (2020). An exceptional neurovascular system in abelisaurid theropod skull: New evidence from Skorpiovenator bustingorryi. Journal of Anatomy 240(4): 612-626. Wiley. doi:10.1111/joa.13258

    Documented the nasal and skull roof neurovascular canal system from CT scans, reading the sculptured nasal surface as a bony correlate for a scaled epidermal cover.

    cerroni2020b
  3. Cerroni, M. A.; Baiano, M. A.; Canale, J. I.; Agnolín, F. L.; Otero, A.; Novas, F. E. (2022). Appendicular osteology of Skorpiovenator bustingorryi (Theropoda, Abelisauridae) with comments on phylogenetic features of abelisaurids. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 20(1): 1-32. Informa UK Limited. doi:10.1080/14772019.2022.2093661

    Described the appendicular skeleton, added five appendicular autapomorphies to the diagnosis, and referred the larger proximal tibia MMCH-Pv 255 to the species.

    cerroni2022a
  4. Canale, J. I.; Cerroni, M. A.; Baiano, M. A.; Meso, J. G.; Palombi, D.; Paulina-Carabajal, A. (2026). The Skull Beneath the Skin: Cranial Osteology of Skorpiovenator bustingorryi (Dinosauria, Theropoda, Abelisauridae) from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia, Argentina. Ameghiniana. Asociacion Paleontologica Argentina. doi:10.5710/amgh.20.08.2026.3665 canale2026a
  5. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Theropods. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the hip height estimate, and the appearance features.

    jones2026c