Neovenator

Neovenator (nˈiːə͡ʊvˌɛne͡ɪtə; "new hunter") is a genus of carcharodontosaurian theropod dinosaur. It is known primarily from several skeletons found in the Early Cretaceous (Hauterivian-Barremian) Wessex Formation on the south coast of the Isle of Wight, southern England. The first remains of Neovenator were discovered in 1978 alongside those of the ornithopod Brighstoneus, after the collapse of part of Grange Chine. In 1996, Steve Hutt, David Martill and Michael Barker named the genus Neovenator. One species is known: the type species, N. salerii, after the Salero family who owned the site on which its remains were discovered.

Between the type specimen and multiple referred specimens, roughly seventy percent of Neovenator's skeleton is known. While incompletely known, it was likely around 7 metres (23 ft) in length, and probably weighed 1 t (1.1 short tons), though a specimen possibly referrable to the genus indicates a larger body size of 10 metres (33 ft). Its skull is known from both premaxillae, parts of the left maxilla, right nasal, right palatine, and the front portion of a dentary. The snout of Neovenator is covered in rugosities, similar to carcharodontosaurids and to abelisaurids, which indicates that it either had an extensive blood supply, possibly for thermoregulation, or an extensive neurovascular system, possibly for tactile purposes. However, this hypothesis has seen scrutiny. Teeth found in association with the type specimen of Neovenator, while they do possess the characteristic enamel wrinkles of carcharodontosaur teeth, differ in their precise pattern.

The taxonomic position of Neovenator has been a subject of debate. Prior to its description, its fragmentary remains led to a tentative referral to Megalosaurus. The authors who described the genus suggested that it was a British representative of Allosauridae, or at least closely related to Allosaurus. In a 2008 monograph on the osteology of Neovenator, a position within the clade Carcharodontosauria was suggested. Four years later, it was given a family of its own, Neovenatoridae.

Neovenator is best known from the Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight, although teeth possibly referrable to the genus have been recovered from the Angeac-Charente bone bed in France. Bite marks found on a fossil of the iguanodontid Mantellisaurus suggest that it was among Neovenator's prey base. Like many fossils of the closely related Allosaurus, the type specimen of Neovenator bears numerous pathologies.