Fukuivenator

Fukuivenator ("hunter of Fukui Prefecture") is an extinct genus of probable therizinosaurian theropod dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Kitadani Formation of Japan. The type species Fukuivenator paradoxus was named and described in 2016 by Yoichi Azuma, Xu Xing, Masateru Shibata, Soichiro Kawabe, Kazunori Miyata and Takuya Imai. The generic name combines a reference to the Fukui prefecture with Latin venator, "hunter". The specific name refers to the paradoxical combination of traits shown by the species. The rocks in which the skeleton of Fukuivenator, holotype FPDM-V8461, was found in August 2007 belong to the Kitadani Formation, which is probably of Barremian or Aptian age. Radiometric dating of nearby rock units has given this formation an estimated age of somewhere between 127 and 115 million years old. The holotype consists of a partial skeleton with skull. The skeleton of F. paradoxus is currently the most complete non-avian dinosaur fossil found in Japan. The remains, including about 160 bones and bone fragments, were not found in articulation and were recovered from an area of 50 by 50 centimetres (20 in × 20 in). Fukuivenator had an estimated length of 2.45 metres (8.0 ft) and an estimated weight of 25 kilograms (55 lb).