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Abelisauridae

Viavenator

"road hunter"

Generic theropod body-plan outline
You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Viavenator 5.6 m (18.4 ft) long
as long as 4 people standing fingertip to fingertip
generic theropod body plan, scaled to length — not a silhouette of Viavenator
Length
5.6 m (18.4 ft)
Period
Late Cretaceous (86–83 Mya)
Place
Argentina
Food
Carnivore
Clade
Abelisauridae

Viavenator (meaning “road hunter”) is a genus of carnivorous abelisaurid theropod dinosaur that lived in the Santonian-aged (Late Cretaceous) Bajo de la Carpa Formation of Argentina. Only a single species is known, V. exxoni, formally described in 2016 by Filippi and colleagues.

What we know

  • Named by Filippi et al., 2016.
  • Body length estimated at about 5.6 m.
  • Fossils found in Argentina.

What we guess

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