Liaoningvenator

Le-ow-ning-ven-ah-tor.
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Benjamin Gutierrez

Vertebrate Paleontologist

Benjamin Gutierrez is a leading expert on dinosaurs, particularly the mighty theropods. His fieldwork in South America has uncovered new species and provided insights into dinosaur social structures.

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Name

Liaoningvenator ‭(‬Liaoning hunter‭)‬.

Phonetic

Le-ow-ning-ven-ah-tor.

Named By

C.-Z.‭ ‬Shen,‭ ‬B.‭ ‬Zhao,‭ ‬C.-L.‭ ‬Gao,‭ ‬J.-C.‭ ‬Lu‭ & ‬M.‭ ‬Kundrat‭ ‬-‭ ‬2017.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dnosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Theropoda,‭ ‬Troodontidae.

Diet

Carnivore.

Species

L.‭ ‬curriei‭

Size

Length of holotype individual estimated at‭ ‬69‭ ‬centimetres.

Known locations

China,‭ ‬Liaoning Province‭ ‬-‭ ‬Yixian Fomration.

Time Period

Early Cretaceous.

Fossil representation

Almost complete articulated skeleton.

In Depth

       Liaoningvenator was a small troodontid dinosaur that lived in China during the early Cretaceous.‭ ‬In fact with a reconstructed length of about sixty-nine centimetres for the holotype individual,‭ ‬Liaoningvenator is amongst the smallest troodontid dinosaurs known.‭ ‬Liaoningvenator also had very‭ ‬long legs,‭ ‬and combined with the light build and size of this dinosaur,‭ ‬most consider it to have been a small and fast predator running around Cretaceous era forests.‭ ‬Not only would this quick speed be good for hunting,‭ ‬it would also be a good defence for staying out of the way of the great many types of larger troodontid and dromaeosaurid dinosaurs that seem to have been very common,‭ ‬and very diverse in this area of the world during the early Cretaceous.

       Liaoningvenator was first found in the Yixian Formation,‭ ‬and other‭ ‬troodontid dinosaurs from this‭ ‬locale include Daliansaurus,‭ ‬Jianianhualong,‭ ‬Mei,‭ ‬Sinovenator and Sinusonasus.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬A new troodontid dinosaur‭ (‬Liaoningvenator curriei gen.‭ ‬et sp.‭ ‬nov.‭) ‬from the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation in Western Liaoning Province.‭ ‬Acta Geologica Sinica‭ ‬38‭(‬3‭)‬:359-371.‭ ‬-‭ ‬C.-Z.‭ ‬Shen,‭ ‬B.‭ ‬Zhao,‭ ‬C.-L.‭ ‬Gao,‭ ‬J.-C.‭ ‬Lu‭ & ‬M.‭ ‬Kundrat‭ ‬-‭ ‬2017.

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