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02-01-2021, 04:52 AM( This post was last modified: 06-04-2021, 03:20 AM by DinoFan83 )
Afrovenator is a genus of carnivorous theropod dinosaur, having been found in 1993 and named by 1994 by paleontologist Paul Sereno. Known to coexist with the ceratosaur Spinostropheus and the primitive sauropod Jobaria, it was originally thought to be from the Early Cretaceous period but re-dating of the rocks where fossils of this species have been found suggest a Middle Jurassic age to be more likely.
The holotype specimen (catalogued as MNN TIG1) preserves most of the skull minus its top (likewise remains of the lower jaws are lacking apart from the prearticular), parts of the spine, partial forelimbs, a partial pelvis, and most of the hind limbs. The generic name comes from the Latin afer, "African", and venator, "hunter", with the species name referring to the region of Niger where the fossil was found. To date, only 1 species (Afrovenator abakensis) is known to have existed.
Recent length and volumetric estimates for the holotype specimen suggest an animal 6.8 meters long and 790 kg in weight, meaning that Afrovenator was medium-sized as Jurassic theropods go. The tibia and fourth metatarsal measure 68.7 and 34.4 cm compared to a femur of 76 cm, which indicates the animal had relatively long lower legs. It was therefore a cursorial animal, plausibly a pursuit predator.
The robustly built skull is estimated at 84 cm long, giving Afrovenator a large head for its size, and the preserved arm material (including a 40 cm humerus as well as a number of hand claws >10 cm long) indicates its arms were large for its size as well.
Although it is a tetanuran theropod, its exact position within that group is less clear. The majority of analyses place it within the Spinosauroidea (or Megalosauroidea), often within the Megalosauridae. However, some analyses have found it to be a member of the Allosauroidea, and even when recovered as a spinosauroid, only a few steps are needed to move it to the allosauroids.
