Neovenator

Phylogeny: Dinosauria > Saurischia > Theropoda > Neotheropoda > Tetanurae > Avetheropoda > Carnosauria > Allosauroidea > Carcharodontosauria > Carcharodontosauridae (?)

Overview: Off the coast of southern England sits the Isle of Wight, well known for its large number of fossil sites, mostly situated on coastal cliffs. In 1978, a storm struck the island, causing a cliff at Brighstone Bay to partially collapse, exposing a number of dinosaur fossils. Among those that were collected included the bones of a decently large theropod and an iguanodontian ornithopod. Those of the iguanodont were at first associated with the genus Iguanodon itself and later with a related genus called Mantellisaurus, but are now referred to a newer taxon called Brighstoneus. The other fossils were initially thought to come from a new species of Megalosaurus, but further research in the 1990’s proved they were from a new taxon, described in 1996 under the name Neovenator, or “new hunter” in Latin. More fossils would be recovered from Neovenator, with about seventy percent of its skeleton being known today. This makes it one of the best represented theropods in the United Kingdom. Neovenator, like Brighstoneus, comes from the Wessex Formation, so it lived during the Early Cretaceous alongside other dinosaurs like Polacanthus and a few spinosaurids.

When it was first described, Neovenator was seen as a close relative of the famous Allosaurus, as a potential fellow member of the family Allosauridae. Later studies, however, would find it to be a fellow allosauroid, but not particularly close to Allosaurus itself. Some studies have placed it within its own family, the Neovenatoridae, which has often been seen as related to the megaraptorans in some way. Most studies nowadays, however, place the Megaraptora within the Coelurosauria. It’s often thought today that Neovenator was either a basal carcharodontosaur, or possibly one of the most basal members of the family Carcharodontosauridae specifically. It was a powerful predator, sporting muscular arms equipped with three large claws. The jaws were fairly strong, bearing teeth that were blade-like in form, typical for an allosauroid. Low crests ran along the length of its snout. The holotype of Neovenator was around seven or eight meters long when it died, but some believe it was a subadult, with some potential mature individuals growing to be a bit larger. Neovenator is usually thought to have been an apex predator, feeding on ornithopods and even sauropods.