Viavenator

Viavenator is a genus of carnivorous abelisaurid theropod dinosaur that lived in the Santonian-aged Bajo de la Carpa Formation of Argentina. Only a single species is known, V. exxoni, formally described in 2016 by Filippi and colleagues.

Classification

Filippi et al. classified Viavenator to a new clade known as the Furileusauria, which includes it as well as Carnotaurus. This would mean the former taxon was closer to the latter than Majungasaurus. It would have measured in length.

Palaeobiology

Viavenator possessed a brain morphology similar to Aucasaurus, another South American abelisaurid, and had a similar inner ear. Compared to the Madagascan abelisaurid Majungasaurus, Viavenator was more reliant on quick movements of the head and sophisticated gaze stabilization mechanisms. However, both genera had a similar range of hearing according to the examinations and subsequent CT scans of the cranium.