Fun Juravenator Facts For Kids

Read on to learn fun facts about a special dinosaur from the Late Jurassic era, including its history, classification, skin, feathers, and similar dinosaurs from the Late Jurassic era!

Juravenator is an extinct genus of small-sized Theropod dinosaurs. It lived during the Jurassic era and occupied the Franconian Jura of Germany, Europe. The Juravenator was the second non-avian Theropod dinosaur to be found in the Solnhofen regions of Germany. A single juvenile specimen was found by Klaus-Dieter, and his brother Hans-Joachim. Classifying this dinosaur under proper taxa was tricky and challenging to the paleontologists as it displayed never-seen-before characteristics. Originally, it was classified as a member of the Compsognathidae family and was considered as a close relative of Compsognathus, Sinosauropteryx, and Sinocalliopteryx due to the fossil evidence of a downy, feather-like covering. However, after further research and studies, a small patch of Juravenator's skin revealed that it had dinosaur scales as well as feathers. The presence of scales on its lower body and a feather coat similar to early feathered dinosaurs made this specimen quite popular. Later its placement with other Compsognathids was questioned, because it simply had more prominent scales than modern birds, and were primitive feathered dinosaurs. After a while, fossils of a new feathered dinosaur (Juravenator starki) were discovered from the German limestone quarries. It was named Juravenator starki by Ursula Göhlich and Luis Chiappe. It is named after the Jura Mountains, and the word 'Jura' means 'hunter'. The fossil remains of this dinosaur are among some of the best well-preserved fossils ever discovered. An almost complete skeleton, with its skull, was recovered in great condition, there were also impressions of soft tissues, and the only missing part was the end of its tail.

Learn about some other pre-historic creatures with feathers, or aquatic creatures from our Tianyulong facts and Futabasaurus facts pages.

How do you pronounce 'Juravenator '?

The word Juravenator is pronounced as 'ju-rah-ve-nay-tor'. 'Jura' means a hunter from the Bavarian mountains, it was named in 2006 by Ursula Göhlich and Luis Chiappe.

What type of dinosaur was a Juravenator?

Studies conducted by Luis Chiappe and Ursula Göhlich revealed that Juravenator was similar to Compsognathus, and probably belonged to the Compsognathidae family, and was initially classified as a member of the Compsognathidae, and placed within the Sinosauropteryx group, with other compsognathids. Later it was found, that Juravenator simply possessed an extensive scaly hide could and was more primitive than a Compsognathid, it was similar to a basal member of another group called Maniraptora. They also suggested that Compsognathids could form a primitive Coelurosaurs clade after an analysis of Coelurosaurs revealed that Juravenator is a coelurosaur and a close relative of the Compsognathidae members. The current taxonomic classification is Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Sauropsida Super Order: Dinosauria Order: Theropoda Suborder: Tyrannoraptora Genus: Juravenator.

In which geological period did the Juravenator roam the earth?

These dinosaurs from the Theropoda order lived during the Late Jurassic era, which was about 151-154 million years ago.

When did the Juravenator become extinct?

These dinosaurs went extinct during the K-T mass extinction nearly 65 million years ago.

Where did a Juravenator live?

The remains of the Juravenator were found from Southern Germany and were one of the first fossil remains that made many paleontologists and scientists question the evolution of Aves or how feathers evolved from dinosaurs to birds. It was the second theropod to be discovered from the Solnhofen Archipelago. It included a nearly complete skeleton, with the skull of a juvenile dinosaur, impressions of skin, an incomplete tail, and some teeth.

What was a Juravenator's habitat?

It never settled in one place and was often in search of new hunting grounds, its habitat changed according to its survival needs. It spent a large portion of its life near the shallow lagoons, of a pre-historic archipelago in Europe.

Who did a Juravenator live with?

Paleontologists speculate that they were solitary, or perhaps lived in a small-sized group.

How long did a Juravenator live?

The life span of this dinosaur from the Jurassic era is unknown however, members belonging to the Theropoda order, were believed to have a life span of 26 - 32 years.

How did they reproduce?

They reproduced via sexual reproduction. Males would release their sperm inside females, who would later lay fertilized eggs containing developing dinosaur embryos in nests, which were built by digging burrows in the soil. The eggs were enormous and had a hard layered shell. The eggs most probably were amniotic, meaning the fetus was covered by a membrane which helped in its protection as well as supplying oxygen and other nutrients to the fetus. Young dinosaurs had protofeathers that faded as they grew older.‭ ‬The type specimen probably died while molting, making it look like it was an animal with reduced feathers.

What did a Juravenator look like?

Juravenator starki was a small bipedal dinosaur with a lean body and fairly rounded belly (described by Göhlich and Chiappe). The recovered Juravenator skull was narrow and elongated, it's texture of this skin was bumpy and pebble-like, similar to other dinosaurs. The skin impression near its tail showed that it most probably had a scaly hide as well. The fossil evidence collected revealed that it had a downy, feather-like covering, which made this newly discovered species of feathered dinosaurs one-of-a-kind due to the presence of both scaly skin and feathers! It is often compared to a Sinocalliopteryx dinosaur, but can be separated easily as the fossil evidence of Sinocalliopteryx showed that it had a downy feather-like covering. Whereas, a Juravenator's body was partially covered in a coat of simple protofeathers, and often with wispy protofeathers.

How many bones did a Juravenator have?

Even though the skeleton recovered was nearly complete and well-preserved, it belonged to a juvenile member of this species, the total number of bones present in a Juravenator is unknown. Its humerus was fairly short and it had giant claws. It is considered the best specimen of a non-avian Theropod.

How did they communicate?

How this Theropod dinosaur/ creature communicated is still a mystery but that's not the case with these dinosaurs, as they had well-developed sensory organs, remarkably similar to those found on a crocodile. This likely helped the animal be careful of its environment as it went across the shallow lagoons.

How big was a Juravenator?

These dinosaurs grew up to 27.5-29.5 in (70-75 cm) in length.

How fast could a move?

The exact speed rate of this dinosaur is unknown, but it was said to be a fast and ferocious predator!

How much did a weigh?

An adult Juravenator dinosaur weighed around 17.6 oz (500 g).

What were the male and female names of the species?

The female species are called Saura, whereas the males are called Saurus.

What would you call a baby?

A young dinosaur can be referred to as a hatchling. The young ones were born with a coat of protofeathers.

What did they eat?

These dinosaurs were carnivorous and used its tail as bait to fish. A Juravenator was an excellent hunter thanks to its sharp senses. Studies conducted on the scleral rings of Juravenator starki revealed that it was nocturnal.

How aggressive were they?

Unfortunately, researchers are still working on understanding the behavior of this species. Therefore, the nature of these dinosaurs is unknown.

Did you know...

Juravenator was nicknamed 'Borsti' by the German press, which is a common pet name given to bristle-haired dogs in Germany. This happened because people assumed that dinosaurs of this genus had bristly protofeathers.

Was Juravenator endemic?

So far fossils of this dinosaur have been recovered only from Germany. Therefore, this creature is considered endemic.

What climate did Juravenator lived in?

This dinosaur lived in regions with cool, and temperate climatic conditions.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these Concavenator facts, or Pegomastax fun facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Juravenator coloring pages.

The main image is by Nobu Tamur and the second image is by Tom Parker.