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Afrovenator

Afrovenator
Temporal range: Middle Jurassic, 162 Ma
Afrovenator mount.jpg
Mounted skeletal model
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Dinosauria
Order: Saurischia
Suborder: Theropoda
Family: Megalosauridae
Genus: Afrovenator
Sereno et al., 1994
Species: A. abakensis
Binomial name
Afrovenator abakensis
Sereno et al., 1994

Afrovenator (/ˌæfrvˈntər/; "African hunter") is a genus of megalosaurid theropod dinosaur from the middle Jurassic Period of northern Africa. It was a bipedal predator, with three claws on each hand.

The generic name comes from the Latin afer, "African", and venator, "hunter". There is one named species, Afrovenator abakensis. The generic name refers to its predatory nature, and its provenance from Africa. The specific name refers to Abaka, the Tuareg name for the region of Niger where the fossil was found. The original short description of both genus and species is found in a 1994 paper which appeared in the prestigious journal Science. The primary author was well-known American paleontologist Paul Sereno, with Jeffrey Wilson, Hans Larsson, Didier Dutheil, and Hans-Dieter Sues as coauthors.


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