Neovenator (nˈiːə͡ʊvˌɛne͡ɪtə; "new hunter") is an extinct 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 per cent of Neovenator's skeleton is known. While incompletely known, it was likely around 7 metres (23 ft) in length, and probably weighed 1 metric ton (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 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. A position within the related clade Carcharodontosauria was first suggested in 1998, and subsequently saw support using both comparative morphology and phylogenetic analyses. In 2012, it was assigned to 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.
Discovery and species The first bones of Neovenator were discovered in the summer of 1978 when a storm made part of the Grange Chine collapse. Rocks containing fossils fell to the beach of Brighstone Bay on the southwestern coast of the Isle of Wight. The rocks consisted of plant debris bed L9 within the variegated clays and marls of the Wessex Formation, dating from the Barremian stage of the Early Cretaceous, about 125 million years ago. They were first collected by the Henwood family and shortly afterwards geology student David Richards collected additional material. Richards sent the remains to the Museum of Isle of Wight (now Dinosaur Isle) and the British Museum of Natural History. In the latter institution, palaeontologist Alan Jack Charig determined that the bones belonged to two kinds of animal: Iguanodon and a theropod. The "Iguanodon", later referred to Mantellisaurus and ultimately made the separate genus Brighstoneus, generated the most interest and in the early 1980s a team was sent by the BMNH to secure more material. The theropod material, meanwhile, was fairly incomplete (consisting of vertebrae and fragments of the pelvis), and a lack of diagnostic features meant that it was ignored until its significance was recognised by Dr. William Blows. Several amateur paleontologists, among them Keith and Jenny Simmonds, now began to search for additional remains of the predator. Ultimately, the total of secured bones included the snout, teeth, the front of a mandible (lower jaw), most of the vertebral column, ribs, gastralia (belly ribs), chevrons, the left shoulder girdle, pelvic bones and a hindlimb. These were accessioned under numbers BMNH R10001 and MIWG 6348. From 1997–2001, further elements were recovered, in the form of the first caudal (tail) vertebra, a left femur, a right tibia, and a pedal phalanx (toe bone). In all, the bones recovered equalled approximately 70% of the skeleton. In 1985, excavations undertaken by Steve Hutt of the MIWG revealed two vertebrae of a second individual, specimen MIWG.5470, recovered 500 m (1,600 ft) from the first. In 1987, Jenny Simmonds found a third skeleton, containing vertebra and pelvic bones, specimen MIWG.6352; this specimen was originally believed to be a different taxon. A fourth individual found by Nick Oliver is represented by specimen IWCMS 2002.186, consisting of a lower jaw, parts of the cervical (neck) vertebrae and limb elements. In 1990 the material, then considered a possible new species of Megalosaurus, was provisionally described by Hutt. Having mistaken the ischium of MIWG 6352 for a pubic bone, Hutt suggested this specimen represented a separate species. In 1996, Steve Hutt, David Martill and Michael Barker named and described the type species Neovenator salerii. The generic name Neovenator means "new hunter" from the Greek neo~, "new" and Latin venator, "hunter". The specific name salerii honours the land owners of the site, the Salero family. In view of the large number of individuals involved in the discovery process, it was considered improper to single out one of them as discoverer. The holotype is the skeleton accessioned as BMNH R10001 and MIWG 6348. In 1999, Hutt dedicated his (unpublished) master thesis to Neovenator. This thesis would form the foundation for a monograph discussing the osteology of the genus. That monograph was published in 2008, and was authored by Stephen L. Brusatte, Roger B. J. Benson and Hutt by the Palaeontographical Society. In 2012, teeth indistinguishable from those associated with the holotype of Neovenator were found in the Angeac-Charente bone bed, in France, dating to the Berriasian. They were distinguished from those of Erectopus, a basal allosauroid also known from the Early Cretaceous of France, by differences in the carinae of their teeth.
Description
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