Australovenator
Australovenator is a medium-sized theropod dinosaur that lived in Australia about 100 million years ago.
Australovenator Temporal range: Late Cretaceous ~ | |
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Reconstructed skeleton, Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum, Winton, Australia | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Dinosauria |
Clade: | Saurischia |
Clade: | Theropoda |
Clade: | †Megaraptora |
Family: | †Megaraptoridae |
Genus: | †Australovenator Hocknull et al. 2009 |
Species: | †A. wintonensis |
Binomial name | |
Australovenator wintonensis Hocknull et al. 2009 |
The fossil bones of the dinosaur were found at an ancient billabong near Winton, Queensland. Scientists have called him "Banjo", after the famous Australian poet, Banjo Patterson.[1] Patterson wrote the song "Waltzing Matilda" after a visit to Winton in 1885.[1]
The dinosaur was discovered in 2006, with several others such as the sauropods Diamantinasaurus and Wintonotitan.[2] It was the most complete theropod skeleton to be found in Australia, as of 2009.[1]
Description
"Banjo" was a medium-sized, fast, carnivorous dinosaur with three large, sharp claws on each hand. It stood about two meters tall.[3] Dinosaur expert Scott Hocknull described Australovenator wintonensis as being like a cheetah.[2]
A phylogenetic analysis found Australovenator to be an allosaurid carnosaur.[1] More studies showed it formed a clade with several other carcharodontosaurid-like allosaurs, the Neovenatoridae.[4]