Viavenator exxoni

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Viavenator is an extinct genus of abelisaurid theropod discovered in Argentina. The holotype (MAU-Pv-Ll-530) of the only known species, Viavenator exxoni, was found in the outcrops of the Bajo de la Carpa Formation (Santonian, Upper Cretaceous), northwestern Patagonia, Argentina. It consists of a partially associated skeleton that preserves the neurocranium, complete articulated postorbitals and squamosals, the hyoid bone, an incomplete tooth and fragment of crown, the atlas vertebra, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th to 10th cervical vertebrae, 2nd, 4th, 5th and 7th to 10th dorsal vertebrae, a few caudal vertebrae, the left scapulocoracoid, the ischium, some cervical and dorsal ribs, fragments of gastralia, and one haemal arch. Its genus name translates to 'road hunter', with Via meaning road, and venator hunter in Latin. The species name exxoni is in recognition of Exxonmobil's commitment to the preservation of paleontological heritage of the La Invernada area, Rincon de los Sauces, Patagonia, Argentina. Viavenator was medium sized as abelisaurids go, estimated at 5.6 meters in length and 780 kilograms based on comparison with more complete relatives like Aucasaurus.
It is thought to have been phylogenetically intermediate between older South American abelisaurids like Skorpiovenator and younger species like Carnotaurus, shedding light as a transitional form on how Patagonian abelisaurids evolved. Like most of its cousins, its snout was short and tall and it had vestigial forelimbs, powerful hindlimbs, and a robust build.
This animal would have coexisted with a number of other species, such as a number of lizards and turtles, the snake species Dinilysia patagonica, a diverse amount of crocodylomorphs such as Notosuchus, and other dinosaurs such as the titanosaur Traukutitan, the noasaurid Velocisaurus, the alvarezsaurid Alvarezsaurus, and the giant megaraptoran Tratayenia, which it was likely a subordinate to. Reply

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Viavenator life restoration and schematic taken from Filippi et al. 2016.

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Viavenator life restoration by Paleocolour.

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Viavenator size comparison by Cisiopurple.

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Size comparison of the holotypes of Tratayenia and Viavenator. Tratayenia taken from Porfiri et al. 2018 and Viavenator taken from Filippi et al. 2016.

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