Name: "
African hunter" (Lt. 'venator' - hunter)
Species:Afrovenator abakensis
Family: Tetanura
Order/Suborder: saurischia/
theropoda
Time: early
Cretaceous; 130-140 mya
Location: Africa (
Abaka,
Niger - southern
Sahara Desert)
Diet: carnivore
Discovered: 1993, by
Paul Sereno
Length: 27 ft. (8 m)
Height: 8 ft. (2.5 m) at the hip
Weight: 1,000 lbs. (450 kg)
Fossil Record: one complete skeleton, missing only lower jaw, nose, some ribs, vertebrae, and toes.
Afrovenator, a later relative of Megalosaurus, was the first complete skeleton ever found of a large African carnivore. It was unearthed by an amateur fossil hunter on a National Geographic-sponsored dig. It was medium sized and built for active hunting, with large, legs and arms, which it used to catch and hold its prey, hence it's name, which means "African hunter". It also has 2-inch long blade-like teeth.
It is only logical that a member of the same family as Megalosaurus would be found in Africa, since it was on the way from Europe to South America, where the family is abundant.