Philovenator

Phil's hunter (loving hunter)

• philo · Greek · loving / friend (also a nod to the first name of Philip Currie)
• venator · Latin · hunter

The name combines the Greek "philo-" (loving) with the Latin "venator" (hunter). It honors the Canadian paleontologist Philip J. Currie, who is also honored in the species name curriei, and it marks the animal as a small predatory theropod.

Named by

Xu et al.

Year named

2012

Period

Late Cretaceous

Found in

Wangshi Group, Zhucheng, Shandong Province, China

A small troodontid theropod. The type species is Philovenator curriei. It is known from limited material, and some fossils may come from a young individual. The exact stage is omitted because I am not certain of it.