Dinosaurs A to Z
Dromaeosauridae

Natovenator polydontus

"to swim"

Generic raptor body-plan outline
You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Natovenator 70 cm (2.3 ft) long
about knee-high to you
generic raptor body plan, scaled to length — not a silhouette of Natovenator
Length
70 cm (2.3 ft)
Period
Late Cretaceous (72–71 Mya)
Place
Mongolia
Food
Carnivore
Clade
Dromaeosauridae Dinosauria Saurischia Theropoda Coelurosauria Sickle-clawed raptors: Velociraptor, Deinonychus, Utahraptor.

Natovenator is a genus of halszkaraptorine dromaeosaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Barun Goyot Formation of Mongolia. The genus is known from a single species, N. polydontus. Natovenator is crucial to the understanding of halszkaraptorines due to it providing more support for the semi-aquatic lifestyle that has been proposed for this clade. This discovery is important as the semi-aquatic lifestyles of halszkaraptorines (mainly Halszkaraptor) was contested in early 2022.

What we know

  • Named by Lee et al., 2022.
  • Body length estimated at about 0.7 m.
  • Fossils found in Mongolia.

What we guess

The reconstruction notes for Natovenator — soft tissue, color, behavior — haven't been written up yet. Only the recorded basics above are filled in so far.