Natovenator polydontus Natovenator

"to swim"

You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Natovenator 70 cm (2.3 ft) long
1 person — shorter than 70 cm (2.3 ft)
Length
70 cm (2.3 ft)
Period
Late Cretaceous (72–71 Mya)
Place
Mongolia
Food
Carnivore
Clade
Dromaeosauridae Dinosauria Saurischia Theropoda Coelurosauria

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.