Skorpiovenator
Skorpiovenator was a meat-eating dinosaur that lived in what is now Argentina. It had a short, deep skull covered in bumps and ridges, and it was one of the most complete abelisaurid skeletons ever found.1
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Fun facts
Skorpiovenator had 19 teeth in its upper jaw, more than any other known abelisaurid.1
Its skull was short and deep, with a bumpy, rough surface covered in ridges and furrows.1
The name Skorpiovenator means 'scorpion hunter' because many scorpions were found at the dig site.1
Skorpiovenator is one of the most complete abelisaurid skeletons ever found, with most of its skull and body bones preserved.1
It belonged to a group called Brachyrostra, which includes South American abelisaurids with short snouts.1
Most asked questions about Skorpiovenator
?How big was Skorpiovenator?
About 6 to 6.2 metres long and weighed around 900 kilograms.3
?How complete is the Skorpiovenator skeleton?
It is one of the most complete abelisaurid skeletons ever found, missing only a few skull bones, parts of the pelvis, tail sections, and most of the forelimbs.3
?Where was Skorpiovenator found?
In Argentina, near Villa El Chocón in Neuquén Province, in rocks called the Huincul Formation.3
?How many teeth did Skorpiovenator have?
It had 4 teeth in each premaxilla, 19 in each maxilla (upper jaw), and 21 in the lower jaw.3
?Why was Skorpiovenator's skull so bumpy?
The bumps and ridges supported large scales, and the many tiny pits (foramina) suggest its face was very sensitive, like a touch-sensitive snout.3
?What did Skorpiovenator eat?
It was a meat-eater, hunting other dinosaurs and animals.3
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Skorpiovenator
- Named by
- Canale et al. 20084
- Group
- Meat-eating dinos
- Family / clade
- Abelisauridae4
- Classification
- Theropoda > Ceratosauria > Abelisauridae4
- Age of the rocks
- 110 to 106 million years (Albian)4
- Rock formations
- Huincul4
- Countries
- Argentina4
- Fossil records
- 2 in the Paleobiology Database4
- Discovery
- Skorpiovenator was named in 2008 by Juan Canale and his team. The skeleton was found on a farm in Patagonia, Argentina, owned by Manuel Bustingorry.41
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure exactly how the bumps and ridges on its skull were used, but they might have helped absorb shock during head-butting or display.1
Where the facts come from
- ri.conicet.gov.ar (ri.conicet.gov.ar)
- Skorpiovenator bustingorryi Canale et al. 2008 - Encyclopedia of Life (eol.org)
- Skorpiovenator (en.wikipedia.org)
- Skorpiovenator 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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