In Depth
Liaoningvenator was a small troodontid dinosaur that lived in China during the early Cretaceous. In fact with a reconstructed length of about sixty-nine centimetres for the holotype individual, Liaoningvenator is amongst the smallest troodontid dinosaurs known. Liaoningvenator also had very long legs, and combined with the light build and size of this dinosaur, most consider it to have been a small and fast predator running around Cretaceous era forests. Not only would this quick speed be good for hunting, it would also be a good defence for staying out of the way of the great many types of larger troodontid and dromaeosaurid dinosaurs that seem to have been very common, and very diverse in this area of the world during the early Cretaceous.
Liaoningvenator was first found in the Yixian Formation, and other troodontid dinosaurs from this locale include Daliansaurus, Jianianhualong, Mei, Sinovenator and Sinusonasus.
Further Reading
- A new troodontid dinosaur (Liaoningvenator curriei gen. et sp. nov.) from the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation in Western Liaoning Province. Acta Geologica Sinica 38(3):359-371. - C.-Z. Shen, B. Zhao, C.-L. Gao, J.-C. Lu & M. Kundrat - 2017.
