Open Paleo

Wiehenvenator

Rauhut et al., 2016 VEE-hen-VEN-uh-tuh

From Wiehen (the Wiehen Hills near Minden, Germany, where the fossil was found) and Latin venator ('hunter'), meaning 'Wiehen hunter'

165.3–161.5 million years ago Callovian, Middle Jurassic
Middle Jurassic stages

Wiehenvenator is a genus of megalosaurid theropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic (Callovian) of north western Germany. The genus contains a single species, W. albati.

Diagnosis

  1. Lacrimal with small oval depression in antorbital fossa anterior to lacrimal fenestra
  2. Very short and high anterior process of lacrimal, length less than half height of bone
  3. Postorbital with transversely concave orbital facet in dorsal part of anterior side with raised margins
  4. Oblique ridge on medial side of fibula at level of iliofibularis tubercle
  5. Proximal part of ascending process of astragalus deflected laterally, marked kink in lateral margin

Species

Wiehenvenator albati Rauhut et al., 2016

Type species

Named for Friedrich Albat, the geologist who discovered the holotype remains at the Pott quarry in the Wiehen Hills near Minden, Germany, in 1998.

Holotype
WMN P27454, WMN P27455, WMN P27456, WMN P27457, WMN P27458, WMN P27459, WMN P27461, WMN P27462, WMN P27464, WMN P27465, WMN P27466, WMN P27467, WMN P27470, WMN P27473, WMN P27475, WMN P27476, WMN P27477, WMN P27479, WMN P27480, WMN P27482, WMN P27483, WMN P27484, WMN P27499, WMN P27500, WMN P27501, WMN P27502, WMN P27503, WMN P27504 , LWL-Museum für Naturkunde
Material
Fragmentary skull and skeleton of a single individual; premaxilla, maxilla, lacrimal, postorbital, quadratojugal ramus, dentary, teeth, caudal vertebrae, dorsal ribs, gastralia, manual phalanx, fibulae, astragalus, calcaneum.
Notes
Each element carries its own number. Two further partial caudal vertebrae, WMN P29131 and P47417, came out of the float at the type locality later and probably belong to the same animal.
Horizon
middle Ornatenton Formation, Callovian, Middle Jurassic , 165.3–161.5 million years ago
Locality
Pott quarry, Lutternsche Egge, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

References

  1. Rauhut, O. M.; Hübner, T.; Lanser, K. (2016). A new megalosaurid theropod dinosaur from the late Middle Jurassic (Callovian) of north-western Germany: Implications for theropod evolution and faunal turnover in the Jurassic. Palaeontologia Electronica 19(2): 26A. Coquina Press. doi:10.26879/654 rauhut2016a