In Depth
Fossils of Xinjiangovenator were once attributed to the genus Phaedrolosaurus, however Phaedrolosaurus was originally described from a single tooth with additional lower limb bones referred to the genus upon the basis that they were found near the tooth within the same fossil bearing formation. In 2005 Rauhut and Xu separated these remains from the tooth upon the grounds that apart from being found in the same formation, there was no direct link between them, so at the time of writing Phaedrolosaurus is known only from a single tooth, and Xinjiangovenator is known from some lower leg bones.
Not much can be said about Xinjiangovenator other than it was a predatory dinosaur that probably hunted other small creatures and dinosaurs. Xinjiangovenator however was suggested in its initial description to have been similar to another genus named Bagaraatan.
Further Reading
- [Dinosaurs from Wuerho]. Reports of Paleontological Expedition to Sinkiang (II): Pterosaurian Fauna from Wuerho, Sinkiang. - Memoirs of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Academia Sinica 11:45-52. - Z. Dong - 1973. - The small theropod dinosaurs Tugulusaurus and Phaedrolosaurus from the Early Cretaceous of Xinjiang, China. - Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 25(1):107-118. - O. W. M. Rauhut & X. Xu - 2005.
