Dinosaur genus
Microvenator
Microvenator is a dinosaur genus known from bones, found in rocks 121.4–93.9 million years old, in the United States.
Confidence labels are switched off. Facts with low confidence, or where sources disagree, still carry a small dot: tap it for the reason.
At a glance
Data as of 11 October 2026- Named by
- Ostrom 1970
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Described in
- J. H. Ostrom (1970). Stratigraphy and paleontology of the Cloverly Formation (Lower Cretaceous) of the Bighorn Basin area, Wyoming and Montana. Peabody Museum Bulletin 35: 1–234.
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; its author and year match the naming authority (Ostrom 1970).Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. The publication the Paleobiology Database gives as the authority for this genus name, usually the one that first named and described it.
- Type species
- Microvenator celer
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Lived
- Aptian to Cenomanian, 121.4–93.9 million years ago
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Omnisaura calculation121.4–93.9 million years ago, from its dated fossil recordsmedium
medium: Omnisaura's calculation from 3 confirmed PBDB records.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Fossils found in
- United States
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (3 records).Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Union of all sources (ISO 3166).
- Rock formations
- Cloverly Formation
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (3 records).Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Canonical names, automatic and editor-approved matches applied.
- Family
- Caenagnathidae
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Parent group
- Caenagnathidae
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Species named in its records
- Microvenator celer
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (the species its fossil records are identified as).
- Diet
- omnivore (inferred for its group)
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this, and it infers it for the whole of Oviraptorosauria, the group this genus belongs to, not from this genus's own fossils.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB, inferred from a group the genus belongs to.
- Way of life
- ground dwelling (inferred for its group)
low
low: PBDB infers this way of life for the whole of Oviraptorosauria; behaviour is rarely known for one genus.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB, inferred from a group the genus belongs to.
- Known from
- Bones
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (what the name was based on).
Gaps are answers
What isn't known yet
- Order: no source we use gives it yet.
- Common names: no source we use gives it yet.
- What it was named after: no source we use gives it yet.
- Held back: 1 fossil record left out: identified only tentatively (for example "cf.", "?" or the name in quotation marks).
- Resting on one source: 6 facts come from a single source with nothing against them (rated medium): authority (PBDB); type species (PBDB); parent group (PBDB); family (PBDB); age (headline) (PBDB); diet (PBDB).
Size and appearance aren't covered yet, and diet and way of life only as PBDB infers them for the wider group. Omnisaura leaves the rest out rather than guess.
Where sources disagree
None open. Where our sources overlap, they agree on everything shown here.
Did it meet…?
No. Microvenator had gone at least 10.3 million years before Tyrannosaurus appears in the fossil record.
Going by the ages and rock formations of their dated fossils, as on the map. Compare their fossil sites on the map.
Connections
Genera linked to Microvenator by where and when their fossils were found, by classification and by who named them. Select a name to open its page.
Same rocks, same time 7
Genera found in the same rock units, from rocks of overlapping age, the most shared fossil sites first.
Same family: Caenagnathidae 10
Other genera in Caenagnathidae with a full profile.
Named by Ostrom 3
Genera whose naming authority includes the same surname. The authority has no initials, so different people who share a surname can appear together.
Found in United States 47
Other genera found in United States, from rocks of overlapping age, the most fossil sites there first.
Credits
Where this page comes from
- Paleobiology DatabaseCC BY 4.0 · fossil records, ages, classification
- Natural History Museum Data PortalCC0 1.0 · catalogued specimens
- WikidataCC0 1.0 · names and identifiers
- OmnisauraOmnisaura editorial · confidence levels and gaps
- PaleoMAP PaleoCoastlines (Kocsis and Scotese 2021)CC BY 4.0 · ancient coastlines on the small map
- Natural EarthPublic domain · today's coastlines
Pictures linked from this page are credited beside each one, with their own licences; the full list is in the JSON download.