In Depth
Fossils of Wiehenvenator were first discovered in 1998 around the Wiehen Hills in Germany. When compared to some other theropod dinosaurs such as Allosaurus, these fossils were noted as being of a potentially huge size which led to estimates of up to fifteen metres in length being recorded in popular media for many years afterward. However as is often the case when people are more concerned with selling a headline, most of these reports were gross overestimates.
These fossils got a fresh description in 2016 which saw them identified as a new genus called Wiehenvenator. This description came to establish Wiehenvenator as a megalosaurid theropod dinosaur (relative of Megalosaurus), with comparisons to genera such as Torvosaurus resulting in estimates of around eight to nine meters in length. The holotype individual of Wiehenvenator is also noted as being a subadult that was at least ten years old when it died, which means that fully grown adults may have been a little bit larger.
Further Reading
- A new megalosaurid theropod dinosaur from the late Middle Jurassic (Callovian) of north-western Germany: Implications for theropod evolution and faunal turnover in the Jurassic. - Palaeontologia Electronica 19.2.26A: 1-65. - Oliver W. M. Rauhut, Tom R. H�bner & Klaus-Peter Lanser - 2016.
