| Erythrovenator | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Skeletal reconstruction ofErythrovenator jacuiensis. Known element in white and unknown in gray. | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Genus: | †Erythrovenator Müller,2021 |
| Type species | |
| †Erythrovenator jacuiensis Müller, 2021 | |
Erythrovenator is agenus ofbasaltheropoddinosaurs from theLate Triassic ofRio Grande so Sul,Brazil. The genus contains a single species,Erythrovenator jacuiensis.
Theholotype and only known specimen ofErythrovenator, CAPPA/UFSM 0157, is an isolatedproximal portion of the leftfemur. This fossil was found in redmudstone of the Niemeyer Site, nearAgudo in Rio Grande Sul. The site is tentatively considered to be earlyNorian (or possible lateCarnian) in age and belongs theCandelária Sequence of theSanta Maria Supersequence. No otherdinosauromorphs are known from this site, which is dominated by thetraversodontidcynodontSiriusgnathus. The site probably corresponds to theRiograndia Assemblage Zone based on the presence ofSiriusgnathus.[1]
Thegeneric name,Erythrovenator, is derived from the Greek word ερυθρός (erythrós), meaning "red" (in reference to the color of the holotype), and the Latin word vēnātor, meaning "hunter." Thespecific name,jacuiensis, references a nearby river, theJacuí River.[1]
Although only partially preserved, the femur has an estimated total length of about 190 millimeters (7.5 inches). The femoral head has a strongly concave lower edge, a rounded inner edge, and a distinct anterolateral tuber, all characteristics of dinosaur femora. It also had small anteromedial and posteromedial tubers, with the former structure quite different from the folded anteromedial tuber of other theropods. The rear surface of the femoral head has a thin vertical ridge in itsmedial portion and a raised scar in its lateral portion, similar toBuriolestes. There is no evidence for a dorsolateral trochanter, unlike all other known Triassic dinosaurs. On the other hand, the anterior trochanter is a prominent pyramidal structure offset from the shaft by a cleft. This is most similar toneotheropods among early dinosaurs, and is also observed in somesilesaurids. Although there is no distinct trochanteric shelf, the anterior trochanter does have a plate-like medial extension.[1]
Aphylogenetic analysis placedErythrovenator as the most basal theropod, supported by the structure of the anterior trochanter. This would make it one of the oldest verifiable theropods known and one of the few known from the Triassic of Brazil. Other potentially older theropods includeEodromaeus (fromArgentina), potentiallyNhandumirim (also from Brazil), andherrerasaurids, but these taxa are not universally considered theropods.Nhandumirim is now considered to be a basalsauropodomorph.[2]Lepidus andCamposaurus, a pair ofcoelophysids from theUnited States of America, are the only other agreed-upon theropods which may have a similar age toErythrovenator.[1]
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