Name:
Skorpiovenator (Greek for "scorpion hunter"); pronounced SCORE-pee-oh-VEH-nah-tore
Habitat:
Woodlands of South America
Historical Period:
Middle Cretaceous (95 million years ago)
Size and Weight:
About 30 feet long and one ton
Diet:
Meat
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Short, blunt skull; tiny arms
About Skorpiovenator:
First things first: the name Skorpiovenator (Greek for "scorpion hunter") has nothing to do with this dinosaur's presumed diet; rather, it's because the sole fossil specimen was surrounded by a bustling colony of living scorpions. Other than its striking name, Skorpiovenator was an average large theropod of the middle Cretaceous period, with a short, blunt skull covered by a weird array of ridges and bumps. This has prompted experts to assign it to the abelisaurs, a sub-family of large theropods (poster genus: Abelisaurus) that were especially common in South America.
