Dinosaur genus

Xenovenator

Rivera-Sylva et al. 2026

Xenovenator is a dinosaur genus known from bones, found in rocks 83.6–72.2 million years old, in Mexico and the United States.

Confidence labels

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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

83.6–72.2 Ma

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114366

The last non-bird dinosaurs died out 66 million years ago. That's as far from us as the end of this bar.

Named by: Rivera-Sylva et al. 2026
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Described in: H. E. Rivera-Sylva, M. C. Aguillón-Martinez, J. Flores-Ventura, I. E. Sánchez-Uribe, J. R. Guzman-Gutierrez, N. R. Longrich (2026). A thick-skulled troodontid theropod from the Late Cretaceous of Mexico. Diversity 18(1): 38:1–26. Read it
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; its author and year match the naming authority (Rivera-Sylva et al. 2026).
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: Xenovenator espinosai
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Lived: Campanian, 83.6–72.2 million years ago
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medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Omnisaura calculation83.6–72.2 million years ago, from its dated fossil records
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medium: Omnisaura's calculation from 5 confirmed PBDB records.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Fossils found in: Mexico
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medium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).
United States
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medium: Only PBDB records it (3 records).
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Union of all sources (ISO 3166).
Rock formations: Cerro del Pueblo
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medium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).
Kirtland
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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: Troodontidae
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medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Parent group: Troodontini
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medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Species named in its records: Xenovenator espinosai
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (the species its fossil records are identified as).
Diet: carnivore, omnivore (inferred for its group)
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this, and it infers it for the whole of Troodontidae, 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 Troodontidae; 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).

Sources: Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0)Confidence levels and gaps are Omnisaura's own assessment.

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.
Resting on one source: 7 facts come from a single source with nothing against them (rated medium): name (PBDB); 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…?

Did Xenovenator meet ?

Yes. Both are found, identified to species, in the same rocks of the same age: Kirtland.

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 Xenovenator 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 24

Genera found in the same rock units, from rocks of overlapping age, the most shared fossil sites first.

Parasaurolophus Kritosaurus Pentaceratops Alamosaurus Nodocephalosaurus Ahshislesaurus Bistahieversor Coahuilasaurus Glyptodontopelta Stegoceras Ahshislepelta Anasazisaurus Bisticeratops Daspletosaurus Labocania Monocloniusand 8 more

Same family: Troodontidae 16

Other genera in Troodontidae with a full profile.

Albertavenator Almas Anchiornis Archaeornithoides Borogovia Byronosaurus Daliansaurus Latenivenatrix Mei Pectinodon Saurornithoides Sinornithoides Sinovenator Stenonychosaurus Troodon Urbacodon

Named by Rivera-Sylva 1

Genera whose naming authority includes the same surname. The authority has no initials, so different people who share a surname can appear together.

Acantholipan

Found in Mexico 10

Other genera found in Mexico, from rocks of overlapping age, the most fossil sites there first.

Spheroolithus Coahuilasaurus Continuoolithus Labocania Magnapaulia Acantholipan Agujaceratops Porituberoolithus Prismatoolithus Velafrons

Credits

Where this page comes from

Paleobiology DatabaseCC BY 4.0 · fossil records, ages, classification
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