Fun Ichthyovenator Facts For Kids
Ichthyovenator is a genus of fish-eating dinosaurs that lived during the Early Cretaceous period.
This genus is represented by a single species, I. laosensis, which is also the type species. It is the most well-known spinosaurid found in Asia due to the discovery of its partial skeleton in the Grès supérieurs Formation in Laos in 2010.
It was later named and described by the paleontologists Ronan Allain, Tiengkham Xeisanavong, Philippe Richir, and Bounsou Khentavong in 2012.
Even though its skull and limbs have not been found yet, its discovery was considered to be important because of the unique sails that this dinosaur sported on its back.
Unlike other spinosaurids whose neural spines of the vertebrae elongated and formed a single sail that extended over their backs, the sail of the Ichthyovenator curved downward at its hips and then rose again to form two separate sails in the shape of a wave.
A few years after the first fossils were discovered, some more fossil material including teeth, vertebrae, and pubic bone were also found belonging to the Ichthyovenator, which revealed that the dinosaur would have fed on small ground-dwelling dinosaurs as well as fish.
Skulls of other spinosaurids suggest that an Ichthvyovenator skull would have had a sensitive receptor to help it detect fish underwater.
Here are some amazing facts about this sail-backed fish hunter!
If you want to read about other cool dinosaurs, check out our Austroraptor interesting facts for kids and Orodromeus fun facts pages.