Viavenator

Viavenator belongs to a group called Furileusauria, which means 'stiff back lizard' in the Mapudungun language, because their backbones were very rigid.2

It lived during the Santonian age, about 85.7 to 83.6 million years ago, filling a gap in the fossil record between earlier and later abelisaurids.32

The only known species is Viavenator exxoni, named after ExxonMobil for helping preserve fossils in the La Invernada area.12

Its skeleton shows special features like a deep notch in the skull bones and a downturned crest on the shin bone, which helped scientists identify it as a new species.2

Viavenator had a very stiff backbone with extra connections between the vertebrae, making its spine almost like a single rod.2

It was a medium to big sized theropod, part of the abelisaurid family that lived in the southern continents during the Cretaceous.2