Afrovenator

Afrovenator was about 8 metres (26 feet) long from snout to tail tip, stood about 1.9 metres (6.2 feet) tall at the hips, and weighed around 790 kg (1,740 lb). Different scientists give slightly different estimates, but it was a medium-sized, slender predator.1

Afrovenator was a meat-eater. It had long, blade-shaped teeth for slicing into prey, and it probably hunted other dinosaurs and animals in what is now the Sahara Desert.12

Afrovenator lived during the Middle to Late Jurassic Period, about 167 to 157 million years ago. Some older sources said it lived in the Early Cretaceous, but scientists now think it is Jurassic in age.1

Afrovenator was discovered in 1993 in the Tiourarén Formation of Niger, in West Africa. Its skeleton is the most complete predatory dinosaur from the Jurassic period ever found in Africa.12

Yes, Afrovenator was probably a fast runner. It had long lower leg bones compared to its thigh bone, and its bones were slender and light, which helped it run quickly after prey.12

Afrovenator was a cousin to Allosaurus, but not a close relative. It belonged to a group called megalosaurids, while Allosaurus was in a different family. Afrovenator had longer, more slender bones and was lighter and faster than Allosaurus.12