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Microvenator

Say it: MY-kro-ven-ay-tor

Name means: “small hunter”1

Ate: A bit of everythingOdd feathered dinosEarly Cretaceous to Late Cretaceous

Microvenator was a tiny, fast-running dinosaur that lived in North America during the Early Cretaceous. It had long legs and was probably covered in feathers, making it look a bit like a small, speedy bird.1

Lived

121 to 94 million years ago3

Early Cretaceous to Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Montana and Wyoming, USA1 3

Food

A bit of everything3

Length

1.3 m1

the only known skeleton is a juvenile, so adult size is uncertain

Weight

1 kg to 3 kg2

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

as long as 2.5 house cats nose to tailas long as 7 bananas end to endabout as heavy as a house catas heavy as 25 bananas

How big was Microvenator compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

cool stuff

Fun facts

Microvenator means 'small hunter', and its species name 'celer' means 'swift' because of its long, fast legs.1

The only known Microvenator fossil is a partial skeleton of a juvenile, so scientists are not sure how big the adults grew.1

Microvenator lived alongside famous dinosaurs like Deinonychus, Sauropelta, and Acrocanthosaurus in the Cloverly Formation.1

It is one of the earliest oviraptorosaurs known from North America, a group of bird-like dinosaurs that often had beaks and feathers.1

Microvenator fossils are very rare, probably because its bones were fragile and it had no teeth, making them harder to preserve.1

The first Microvenator fossil was collected in 1933 by Barnum Brown, but it was not named until 1970 by John Ostrom.1

Brown originally called it 'Megadontosaurus' (big-toothed lizard) because he mistakenly thought Deinonychus teeth belonged to it.1

AI-made picture of Microvenator — An AI-made picture of how Microvenator 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 Microvenator

?How big was Microvenator?

The only known fossil is a juvenile about 1.3 metres (4.3 feet) long. Adults may have been larger, but their size is unknown.1

?Did Microvenator have feathers?

Yes, it was an oviraptorosaur, a group of bird-like dinosaurs that often had feathers. It probably looked like a small, speedy bird.1

?What did Microvenator eat?

It was an omnivore, meaning it ate both plants and meat. Its lack of teeth suggests it may have used a beak.3

?When did Microvenator live?

It lived during the Early Cretaceous period, about 110 million years ago.1

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Myth buster

Myth: Some people think Microvenator was a big, scary predator like other theropods.

Truth: Microvenator was actually a small, fast omnivore that ate both plants and small animals, and it was probably covered in feathers.1 3

For dino experts

Scientific name: Microvenator
Named by: Ostrom 19703
Group: Odd feathered dinos
Family / clade: Caenagnathidae3
Classification: Theropoda > Oviraptorosauria3
Age of the rocks: 121 to 94 million years (Aptian / Cenomanian)3
Rock formations: Cloverly3
Countries: USA3
Fossil records: 4 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: Barnum Brown collected the first Microvenator fossil in 1933 in Montana, but it was not named until 1970 by John Ostrom, who called it Microvenator celer.1
Still debated: Scientists are still unsure how big adult Microvenator grew, because the only known skeleton is from a juvenile.1

Where the facts come from

Microvenator (en.wikipedia.org)
PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
Microvenator 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.

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