Concavenator corcovatus ("Hunchback Hunter from Cuenca") is a species of theropod from Spain found in September 8, 2010. It lived approximately 130 million years ago during the early Cretaceous period (Barremian stage). The type species is C. corcovatus; Concavenator corcovatus means "hump backed hunter from Cuenca". The fossil was discovered in the Las Hoyas fossil site of Spain by paleontologists José Luis Sanz, Francisco Ortega and Fernando Escaso from the Autonomous University of Madrid and the National University of Distance Learning. It can have one to two humps, similar to spinosaurids, on it's back which is speculated to being used for body heat, storing body fat, and it is being argued that it could also be used for communication. Concavenator can grow to be 20 feet long and it's hump can grow to be 16 inches long. It has been speculated that the hump was brightly colored, thus making it noticeable from a mile away. If a Concavenator was healthy, its hump would be large, probably making it a significant mate and deterring possible rivals and other theropods. Concavenator also likely had proto-feathers on it's arms, giving more evidence to the theory that most dinosaurs had plumage, proto-feathers and a more direct relation to modern avians.
History[]
Fernando Escaso, Francisco Ortega, and José Luis Sanz examining the holotype of Concavenator
A medium-sized carcharodontosaurid was first discovered in La Huérguina Formation, Spain by paleontologists José Luis Sanz, Francisco Ortega and Fernando Escaso, and was formally named Concavenator in 2010 – the name translates to "Cuenca hunter with a hump" referring to the location of its discovery and its most striking feature.
Description[]
Size compared to a human
Concavenator was a medium-sized (roughly 6 meters (20 feet) long) primitive carcharodontosaurian dinosaur possessing several unique features. Two extremely tall vertebrae in front of the hips formed a tall but narrow and pointed crest (possibly supporting a hump) on the dinosaur's back. The function of such crests is currently unknown. Paleontologist Roger Benson from Cambridge University speculated that one possibility is that "it is analogous to head-crests used in visual displays", but the Spanish scientists who discovered it noted it could also be a thermal regulator.
Additionally, the forelimb (ulna) of Concavenator preserved evidence of what may be quill knobs or homologous structures, an anatomical feature so far known only in animals with large, quilled feathers on the forelimb.
Feathers and scales[]
Conventional restoration of Concavenator with scales, a sail, and a small amount of quills
Concavenator had structures resembling quill knobs on its forearm, a feature known only in birds and other feathered theropods, such as Velociraptor. Quill knobs are created by ligaments which attach to the feather follicle, and since scales do not form from follicles, the authors ruled out the possibility that they could indicate the presence of long display scales on the arm. Instead, the knobs probably anchored simple, hollow, quill-like structures. Such structures are known both in coelurosaurs such as Dilong and in some ornithischians like Tianyulong and Psittacosaurus. If the ornithischian quills are homologous with bird feathers, their presence in an allosauroid like Concavenator would be expected. However, if ornithischian quills are not related to feathers, the presence of these structures in Concavenator would show that feathers had begun to appear in earlier, more primitive forms than coelurosaurs. Feathers or related structures would then likely be present in the first members of the clade Neotetanurae, which lived in the Middle Jurassic. No impressions of any kind of integument were found near the arm, although extensive scale impressions were preserved on other portions of the body, including broad, rectangular scales on the underside of the tail, bird-like scutes on the feet, and plantar pads on the undersides of the feet.
Classification[]
Reconstructed skeleton
The following cladogram after Novas et al., 2013, shows its place within Carcharodontosauridae.
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Paleoecology[]
Concavenator lived in the wet, woodland areas of Spain and western Europe during the Early Cretaceous period – 130 to 125 million years ago – and fed on smaller theropods and mammals, using its serrated teeth to tear through the flesh of its prey. It shared its habitat with a wide range of dinosaurs including troodont Euronychodon, dubious dromaeosaur Richardoestesia, and ornithomimosaur Pelecanimimus.
Appearance in other media[]
Jurassic Park[]
- Concavenator itself doesn't appear in the Jurassic Park movies, although it appears as a statue in a diorama in the Lockwood Manor in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
- Concavenator is one of the animals that you can get in Jurassic World: Alive.
- Concavenator appears in Jurassic World: The Game as a VIP carnivore in the solid gold pack.
- Concavenator was added to Jurassic World Evolution 2 via the Cretaceous Carnivore Pack.
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