Australovenator

Australovenator (meaning "southern hunter") is a genus of either allosauroid or tyrannosauroid theropod dinosaurs from Albian (Early Cretaceous)-age rocks (dated to 95 million years ago[1]) of Australia. It is known from partial cranial and postcranial remains which were described in 2009 by Dr Scott Hocknull and colleagues.

Description and history
Australovenator is based on a theropod specimen (AODF 604), affectionately nicknamed "Banjo" after Banjo Paterson[2]), which was found intermingled with the remains of the sauropod Diamantinasaurus matildae at the "Matilda site" (AODL 85). The only known specimen of Australovenator, which is held at the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History, comprises a left dentary, teeth, partial forelimbs and hindlimbs, a partial right ilium, ribs, and gastralia. Australovenator was described in 2009 by paleontologist Scott Hocknull of the Queensland Museum, and colleagues. The type species is A. wintonensis, in reference to nearby Winton.[3]

More arm elements of the holotype were described in 2012.

Classification
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.[3] More detailed studies found that it formed a clade with several other carcharodontosaurid-like allosaurs, the Neovenatoridae.[5]

The ankles of Australovenator and Fukuiraptor are similar to the Australian talus bone known as NMVP 150070 that had previously been identified as belonging to Allosaurus sp., and this bone likely represents Australovenator or a close relative of it.[3][6] Alternatively, this bone could belong to an abelisaur.

The cladogram presented here follows the 2010 analysis by Benson, Carrano and Brusatte.[5] Another study published later in 2010 also found the Australian theropod Rapator to be a megaraptoran extremely similar to Australovenator.