| Anteavis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Speculativelife restoration | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Genus: | †Anteavis Martínez et al.,2025 |
| Species: | †A. crurilongus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Anteavis crurilongus Martínez et al., 2025 | |
Anteavis (lit. 'before birds') is anextinct genus of earlytheropod dinosaurs known from theLate Triassic (Carnian age)Ischigualasto Formation of Argentina. The genus contains asingle species,Anteavis crurilongus, known from a partial skeleton and skull.[1]
TheAnteavisholotype specimen, PVSJ 1085, was discovered in outcrops of the Cancha de Bochas Member of theIschigualasto Formation inIschigualasto Provincial Park ofSan Juan Province, northwestern Argentina. The specimen, which isaccessioned at the Institute and Museum of Natural Sciences (Instituto y Museo de Ciencias Naturales) of theNational University of San Juan, consists of a partial skeleton of a single individual. The preserved skull bones include the leftmaxilla and rightdentary (upper and lower tooth-bearing bones), the leftprefrontal (bone near the upper margin of theorbit, to the side of theskull roof), and part of bothpterygoids and the rightectopterygoid (palate bones). Several vertebrae are preserved from various regions of the body, including fourcervical (neck), tendorsal (back), foursacral, and sixcaudal (tail) vertebrae. The remaining elements belong to the limbs and girdles. Part of the rightscapulocoracoid, bothhumeri and the ends of the rightulna (upper and lower forelimb bones), a possiblephalanx of digit III, and part of what may be theungual (claw) of digit I are preserved from the forelimb and pectoral region. The hindlimb and pelvic region preserves a complete and articulated pelvis (ilium,pubis, andischium), the leftfemur, righttibia, and an end from bothfibulae (upper and lower hindlimb bones), in addition to the leftastragalus,tarsals, andmetatarsus, the right metatarsal of the digit II, and left phalanges of digit I and II.[1]
In 2025, Ricardo N. Martínez and colleaguesdescribedAnteavis crurilongus as a new genus and species of early theropod dinosaur based on these fossil remains. Thegeneric name,Anteavis, combines theLatin wordsante, meaning'preceeding' or'before', andavis, meaning'bird'. This alludes to the ancestral anatomy of the genus compared to birds, the onlyextant theropods. Thespecific name,crurilongus, combines the Latin wordscrus, meaning'leg',andlongus, meaning'long', in reference to the proportionally elongate lower hindlimb.[1]
In their 2025phylogenetic analysis, Martínez and colleagues recoveredAnteavis as a basally-branching member of the Theropoda, diverging after the coevalEodromaeus.[2] These results are displayed in thecladogram below:[1]
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