Kayentavenator
Kayentavenator was a meat-eating dinosaur that lived in what is now Arizona, USA, about 189 million years ago. It was a fast, two-legged hunter that probably chased small prey through the ancient desert.12
When did it live?
How fast was it?
Fun facts
Kayentavenator was named by Robert Gay in 2010, based on fossils found in the Kayenta Formation in Arizona.12
The only known fossils of Kayentavenator are a partial pelvis, a hindlimb, and seven vertebrae.1
Some scientists think Kayentavenator might actually be a young coelophysid dinosaur, not a separate species.3
The name Kayentavenator means 'Kayenta hunter', after the rock formation where it was found.1
Kayentavenator lived during the Early Jurassic period, about 189 million years ago.1
Most asked questions about Kayentavenator
?How big was Kayentavenator?
The only known fossil is from a juvenile that stood about 0.5 metres (1.6 feet) tall at the hip. The adult size is unknown.45
?What did Kayentavenator eat?
Kayentavenator was a carnivore, meaning it ate meat. It probably hunted small prey.46
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Kayentavenator
- Named by
- Gay 20106
- Group
- Meat-eating dinos
- Family / clade
- Tetanurae6
- Classification
- Theropoda6
- Age of the rocks
- 200 to 184 million years (Sinemurian / Pliensbachian)6
- Rock formations
- Kayenta6
- Countries
- USA6
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database6
- Discovery
- The fossils of Kayentavenator were discovered in 1982 by the University of California Museum of Paleontology at a site called Willow Springs 2 in Arizona. Robert Gay named the dinosaur in 2010.1
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure if Kayentavenator is a valid dinosaur or just a young individual of another coelophysid species.3
Where the facts come from
- KAYENTAVENATOR - DinoChecker dinosaur archive (dinochecker.com)
- PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
- The Theropod Database Blog: Is Kayentavenator a young "Megapnosaurus" kayentakatae? (theropoddatabase.blogspot.com)
- Kayentavenator (en.wikipedia.org)
- PaleoCodex :: Kayentavenator (paleocodex.com)
- Kayentavenator in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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