Arcovenator
Arcovenator was a meat-eating dinosaur that lived on an island made of what is now France, Spain, and Portugal. It had a rough, bumpy skull and was about the size of a car. This predator hunted other dinosaurs in a warm, swampy landscape.1
When did it live?
How big was it?
How big was Arcovenator compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
Fun facts
Arcovenator is one of the most complete abelisaurid dinosaurs ever found in Europe. Its fossils include a well-preserved braincase.2
This dinosaur lived on the Ibero-Armorican island, a large landmass that included parts of modern France, Spain, and Portugal.1
Arcovenator's name comes from the Arc River in France, near where it was discovered, and the Latin word for hunter.1
Its skull had a rough, bumpy surface and a special hole between the front bones on top of the head.2
Arcovenator was a medium-sized abelisaurid, about 5 to 6 metres long. That is roughly the length of a small car.1
Fossils of Arcovenator were found during construction of the A8 motorway in southern France. The company Escota paid for the dig.1
Most asked questions about Arcovenator
?What did Arcovenator eat?
It was a meat-eating theropod that hunted other dinosaurs on its island home.13
?How big was Arcovenator?
It was about 5 to 6 metres long, or about the size of a small car. A 2016 study gave a length of 4.8 metres.1
?When did Arcovenator live?
It lived in the Late Cretaceous, about 76 to 72 million years ago.1
?Was Arcovenator a dinosaur?
Yes, it was a theropod dinosaur in the abelisaurid family.1
?Where was Arcovenator found?
Its fossils were found near Pourrières in southern France, during construction of the A8 motorway.12
?Is Arcovenator bigger than T. rex?
No, it was much smaller. Arcovenator was about 5 to 6 metres long, while T. rex could be over 12 metres long.1
Ask Rex about Arcovenator
Rex only answers questions about this page. 3 questions a day.
Rex is an AI and can make mistakes. He runs on servers in the EU and questions are never saved. Never type your name or other personal things.
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Arcovenator
- Named by
- Tortosa et al. 20143
- Group
- Other meat-eaters
- Family / clade
- Abelisauridae3
- Classification
- Theropoda > Ceratosauria > Abelisauridae3
- Age of the rocks
- 84 to 66 million years (Campanian / Maastrichtian)3
- Rock formations
- Argiles rutilantes, Vegas de Matute, Vitoria3
- Countries
- Spain, France3
- Fossil records
- 6 in the Paleobiology Database3
- Discovery
- Arcovenator was named in 2014 by Thierry Tortosa and colleagues. Its fossils were found near Pourrières, France, during work on the A8 motorway.13
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure if some fossils from Spain and the Tremp Formation belong to Arcovenator or a different abelisaurid.1
Where the facts come from
- Arcovenator (en.wikipedia.org)
- Original article A new abelisaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of southern France: Palaeobiogeographical implications Un nouveau dinosaure abélisauridé du Crétacé supérieur du Sud de la France : implications paléobiogéographiques (sciencedirect.com)
- Arcovenator in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
Rex is hungry! Dino Wiki is a dad's project for his dino-loving son, free with no ads. Grown-ups can feed Rex a snack to help keep it online.Feed Rex
Allosaurus
Carnotaurus
Dilophosaurus
Giganotosaurus
Compsognathus
Paronychodon
Triceratops
Velociraptor
Spinosaurus
Ankylosaurus
Parasaurolophus