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Gnathovorax

Say it: NATH-oh-VOR-ax

Name means: “jaw devourer”1

Ate: MeatFirst dinosaursLate Triassic

Gnathovorax was an early meat-eating dinosaur that lived about 233 million years ago in what is now Brazil. It was a fast and smart hunter with sharp teeth and claws, and its brain had special parts that helped it control its eyes and head while chasing prey.1 2

Lived

234 to 227 million years ago4

Late Triassic

Fossils found in

Marchezan site, São João do Polêsine, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil1 4

Food

Meat1 2

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

cool stuff

Fun facts

Gnathovorax is the most complete and best preserved herrerasaurid dinosaur ever found, with an almost complete skeleton that is barely squashed.1

Scientists used CT scans to make a digital model of Gnathovorax's brain, which showed it had a large floccular fossa lobe, a brain part linked to eye and head control in active hunters.1 2

Gnathovorax lived during the Carnian stage of the Late Triassic, about 233 million years ago, making it one of the earliest known dinosaurs.1 4

It was a herrerasaurid, a group of early predatory dinosaurs that lived only in the Triassic period, before theropods took over as top hunters.1 2

The fossil of Gnathovorax was found lying next to the remains of a rhynchosaur and a cynodont, which were other animals that lived at the same time.1

Gnathovorax was named after the paleontologist Sérgio Furtado Cabreira, who discovered the specimen, and its name means 'jaw devourer'.1

AI-made picture of Gnathovorax — An AI-made picture of how Gnathovorax might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Gnathovorax

?How big was Gnathovorax?

Gnathovorax measured almost 3 metres (about 10 feet) long, making it one of the biggest Brazilian dinosaurs of its time.3

?What did Gnathovorax eat?

Gnathovorax was a meat-eater. It had sharp, serrated teeth and long claws for catching prey, and its brain had a large floccular fossa lobe, which is linked to active hunting.1 3

?When did Gnathovorax live?

Gnathovorax lived about 233 million years ago during the Carnian stage of the Late Triassic period.1 2

?Is Gnathovorax a dinosaur?

Yes, Gnathovorax is a dinosaur. It is a herrerasaurid saurischian dinosaur from the Late Triassic of Brazil.2

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Gnathovorax
Named by: Pacheco et al. 20194
Group: First dinosaurs
Family / clade: Herrerasauridae4
Classification: Herrerasauridae4
Age of the rocks: 234 to 227 million years (Carnian)4
Rock formations: Santa Maria4
Countries: Brazil4
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: The only known skeleton of Gnathovorax was found by paleontologist Sérgio Furtado Cabreira in southern Brazil, and it was named and described by Cristian Pacheco and colleagues in 2019.1
Still debated: Scientists are still debating exactly how herrerasaurids like Gnathovorax are related to other dinosaurs, and whether they are closer to theropods or to sauropodomorphs.1

Where the facts come from

Gnathovorax cabreirai: a new early dinosaur and the origin ... (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Gnathovorax (en.wikipedia.org)
Early meat-eating dinosaur revealed via spectacular fossil | National Geographic (nationalgeographic.com)
Gnathovorax in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

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