Viavenator

Viavenator (meaning "road hunter") is a genus of carnivorous abelisaurid theropod dinosaur discovered in Argentina's Bajo de la Carpa Formation. It coexisted with the megaraptoran Tratayenia rosalesi.

Viavenator
Temporal range: Santonian
~86–83 Ma
↓
Life restoration of Viavenator exxoni
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Theropoda
Family: †Abelisauridae
Clade: †Furileusauria
Genus: †Viavenator
Filippi et al. 2016
Type species
†Viavenator exxoni
Filippi et al. 2016

Classification

Filippi classified Viavenator to a new clade known as the Furileusauria,[1] which includes Viavenator as well as Carnotaurus. This would have meant Viavenator was closer to Carnotaurus than Majungasaurus. It would have been 5.6 metres (18 ft) in length.[2]

Palaeobiology
Size comparison of Viavenator exxoni to a human

Viavenator possessed a similar brain morphology to Aucasaurus, another South American abelisaurid and had a similar inner ear. Additionally, when compared to the Madagascan abelisaurid Majungasaurus, it was determined that Viavenator was more reliant more on quick movements of the head and sophisticated gaze stabilization mechanisms than the former theropod; however, both genera had a similar range of hearing according to the examinations and subsequent CT scans of the cranium.[3]

See also

References
  1. Leonardo S. Filippi; Ariel H. Méndez; Rubén D. Juárez Valieri & Alberto C. Garrido (2016). "A new brachyrostran with hypertrophied axial structures reveals an unexpected radiation of latest Cretaceous abelisaurids". Cretaceous Research. 61: 209–219. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2015.12.018.
  2. Grillo, O. N.; Delcourt, R. (2016). "Allometry and body length of abelisauroid theropods: Pycnonemosaurus nevesi is the new king". Cretaceous Research. 69: 71–89. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2016.09.001.
  3. https://paleonerdish.wordpress.com/2017/06/23/neuroanatomy-of-the-abelisaurid-theropod-viavenator/


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