Spectrovenator
Spectrovenator was a small, meat-eating dinosaur that lived in Brazil about 125 million years ago. It was a speedy hunter with sharp teeth and a long tail. Its name means 'ghost hunter' because it was found hidden under another dinosaur!1
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Fun facts
Spectrovenator is known from a single skeleton that was found underneath the skeleton of another dinosaur called Tapuiasaurus. That's why it was named 'ghost hunter'.1
Its skull was very well preserved, and scientists used it to learn how abelisaurid dinosaurs evolved over time.1
Spectrovenator had a weaker bite than later abelisaurids, which means its bite force was not as strong as some of its relatives.1
It lived during the Aptian age, about 121 to 113 million years ago, in the Early Cretaceous period.3
The skeleton includes a nearly complete skull, parts of the spine, hip bones, and well-preserved leg bones.1
Spectrovenator shares some skull features with another early abelisaurid called Rugops, which lived in Africa.1
Most asked questions about Spectrovenator
?How big was Spectrovenator?
About 1.42 to 2.2 metres (4.7 to 7.2 ft) long.1
?What did Spectrovenator eat?
It was a meat-eating dinosaur, so it ate other animals.1
?When did Spectrovenator live?
It lived during the Early Cretaceous period, about 125 million years ago.1
?Why is it called Spectrovenator?
Its name means 'ghost hunter' because its skeleton was found hidden underneath another dinosaur called Tapuiasaurus.1
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Myth buster
Myth: Some people think Spectrovenator was a ghost or a spirit because of its name.
Truth: Spectrovenator was a real dinosaur. Its name comes from Latin and means 'ghost hunter', but it was a flesh-and-blood animal that lived millions of years ago.1
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Spectrovenator
- Named by
- Zaher et al. 20203
- Group
- Meat-eating dinos
- Family / clade
- Abelisauridae3
- Classification
- Theropoda > Ceratosauria > Abelisauridae3
- Age of the rocks
- 121 to 113 million years (Aptian)3
- Rock formations
- Quiricó3
- Countries
- Brazil3
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
- Discovery
- Spectrovenator was discovered in Brazil and named by Zaher and colleagues in 2020. The skeleton was found under the skeleton of Tapuiasaurus, and the species name 'ragei' honors French paleontologist Jean-Claude Rage.13
- Still debated
- Scientists are still debating exactly how Spectrovenator is related to other abelisaurids, and whether its weaker bite means it had a different hunting style.1
Where the facts come from
- Spectrovenator (en.wikipedia.org)
- Spectrovenator ragei | Dinosaur Database by DinoAnimals.com (dinoanimals.com)
- Spectrovenator in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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