Australovenator Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Australovenator Temporal range: Late Cretaceous ~95Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓

Reconstructed skeleton, Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum, Winton, Australia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Clade:	Dinosauria
Clade:	Saurischia
Clade:	Theropoda
Clade:	†Megaraptora
Family:	†Megaraptoridae
Genus:	†*Australovenator* Hocknull et al. 2009
Species:	†A. wintonensis
Binomial name
†Australovenator wintonensis Hocknull et al. 2009
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Australovenator was a medium-sized theropod dinosaur that lived in Australia. It roamed the land about 100 million years ago. Its fossil bones were found near Winton, Queensland, at an old billabong. Scientists nicknamed this dinosaur "Banjo". This name honors Banjo Paterson, a famous Australian poet. He wrote the well-known song "Waltzing Matilda" after visiting Winton in 1885.

Australovenator was discovered in 2009. It was found with other dinosaurs like Diamantinasaurus and Wintonotitan. As of 2009, it was the most complete theropod skeleton ever found in Australia.

About Banjo the Dinosaur

"Banjo" was a very fast meat-eating dinosaur. It had three large, sharp claws on each hand. This helped it catch its prey. It stood about two meters (about 6.5 feet) tall. Dinosaur expert Scott Hocknull described Australovenator wintonensis as being like a cheetah.

Scientists studied Australovenator to understand its family tree. They found it was a type of allosaurid carnosaur. Further studies showed it belonged to a group called Neovenatoridae. This group includes other large, meat-eating dinosaurs.