Vectaerovenator fossil map
Where fossils of Vectaerovenator have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 115 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 115 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Theropods |
|---|---|
| Lived | 119.57–113.2 million years ago (Aptian) |
| Periods | Cretaceous |
| Named by | Barker et al. 2020 |
| Fossil records | 1 occurrences at 1 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | United Kingdom |
| Rock formations | Ferruginous Sands |
About Vectaerovenator
Vectaerovenator (meaning "Isle of Wight air-filled hunter" due to the pneumaticity of the vertebrae) is a genus of tetanuran theropod from the Early Cretaceous period of what is now England (Lower Greensand Group; Ferruginous Sands). It contains one species, Vectaerovenator inopinatus; its holotype, consisting of the specimens IWCMS 2020.400, 2020.407, and 2019.84, comprises two anterior dorsal vertebrae, a cervical vertebra and a mid‐caudal vertebra from the late Aptian Ferruginous Sands of the Isle of Wight in southern England, discovered in 2019. Comparative anatomical analysis shows that this taxon shares homoplastic features with megalosauroids, carcharodontosaurs, and some coelurosaurs, and cannot be reliably placed beyond Tetanurae incertae sedis, but has enough autapomorphies that it can be considered a valid genus.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Vectaerovenator (revision 1295207961), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q24048659.
