Dracovenator

genus of reptiles (fossil)

Dracovenator was a genus of theropod dinosaur that lived in southern Africa during the Lower Jurassic period. That was about 185 million years ago. It is closely related to Dilophosaurus. It might have had a pair of crests like Dilophosaurus.

Dracovenator
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Dracovenator

Its name means "Dragon hunter". It was given this name because dinosaurs are similar to the dragons of mythology, and it was a carnivore, so it was probably a hunter.

Dracovenator was a large carnivore, about 23 feet long. It is the first large meat-eating dinosaur from the Lower Jurassic of Africa to be discovered. Dracovenator was described and named in 2006, based on a hand claw, an upper jaw with teeth, back bones, hip bones, ribs, and foot bones. There is one named species, Dracovenator regenti. Dracovenator was discovered in the upper Elliot Formation in South Africa.