Australovenator Wintonensis

Australovenator (meaning "southern hunter") is a genus of allosauroid theropod dinosaur from late Albian (Early Cretaceous)-age rocks of Australia. It is known from partial cranial and postcranial remains. Australovenator is based on AODL 604 (affectionately named "Banjo") a partial skeleton including a left dentary, teeth, partial forelimbs and hindlimbs, a partial right ilium, ribs, and gastralia. Australovenator was described in 2009 by Scott Hocknull and colleagues. The type species is A. wintonensis, in reference to nearby Winton. A phylogenetic analysis found Australovenator to be an allosauroid carnosaurian, with similarities to Fukuiraptor and carcharodontosaurids. In the initial analysis, it was shown to be the sister taxon of the Carcharodontosauridae. More detailed studies found that it formed a clade with several other carcharodontosaurid-like allosaurs, the Neovenatoridae.