A Restoration of a Neovenator
Neovenator is an extinct genus of neovenatorid dinosaur. It was discovered on the Isle of Wight in the UK and lived alongside creatures such as Eotyrannus and Iguanodon.
Discovery and Species[]
The first bones of the type species were discovered in 1978, in a plant debris bed within the variagated clays and marls of the Wessex Formation on the southwest coast of the Isle of Wight. It was much later (1989) that more bones from this specimen were found. Excavations undertaken by Dr Steve Hutt and his team have so far revealed approximately 70% of the skeleton.
Neovenator
At the time that it was described, by Steve Hutt, Martill and Barker in 1996, it was considered the only known allosaurid in Europe. However, further studies suggested it had more in common with the advanced carcharodontosaurid group of allosaurs, and several studies including a detailed examination of the species by Benson, Carrano and Brusatte in 2010 showed that it is in fact closely related to the Carcharodontosauridae (in a group called Carcharodontosauria), but is actually closer to the megaraptorans, together with them forming the family Neovenatoridae.
Location[]
Fossil remains of Neovenator have been found on the Isle of Wight (southern England), and were first discovered in the 20th century. Neovenator existed alongside Baryonyx, Polacanthus and Iguanodon in the early Cretaceous period. It was one of the top predators of its day.
Pathology[]
Neovenator is a part of the theropod family of dinosaurs.
Gallery[]
