The Concavenator is a comparatively newly discovered addition to the dinosaur kingdom. Discovered in Spain, this dinosaur had a number of specific features making it truly unique.
Surviving in the early Cretaceous period, about 130 million years ago, Concavenator was a fierce medium-sized meat-eating dinosaur. A fully grown adult would have been roughly 5.8 meters (19 ft) long and weighed in at around four tons. Concav’s were a part of the carcharodontosaurus family, which isn’t the simplest word to pronounce.
Concavenator had two standout features that have created a lot of interest from researchers globally. The first was the two prominent vertebrae in front of their hips, which would have seemed like a small pointed crest, and it has been proposed that this would have sustained a large hump. However, there have been alternative theories as to the purpose of the hump/crest. The conventional views are that this was used as a display feature in lovemaking, with the potential of multiple colors shining on a sail, or that it was in fact used to only regulate body temperature. The second and perhaps more significant feature of this dinosaur was the marvelous structures on their forearms that relate to quill knobs.
Quill knobs are usually linked with birds. However, some theropods, such as Velociraptor, also shared these arrangements, and it is theorized, and universally accepted, that such dinosaurs had an indirect genetic relation to modern-day birds. It’s crucial to note that most dinosaurs died out in a likely meteorite hit to the earth, which means Tyrannosaurus Rex, along with many other dinosaurs, are not directly related to modern-day birds. Until the Concavenator was found, it was unknown that dinosaurs from that far-off period had such characteristics. It could mean that the evolution of dinosaur to bird started a lot earlier than previously thought. There is a lot of uncertainty concerning this theory, and many experts believe these structures were, in fact, not quill knobs. However, there hasn’t yet been a precise analysis to support one theory or the other.
Concavenator has perplexed many experts, and it only proves how much we have yet to learn about dinosaurs.
5 Facts about Concavenator
- Concavenator are roughly 5.8 meters (19 ft) long.
- The dramatic Inner ear structure of Concavenator was discovered in 2001. The Concavenator’s ear starts from the brain’s portion to the tip of the animal’s snout is the forebrain, followed by the midbrain.
- The midbrain is angled downwards at a 45-degree angle and towards the animal’s rear. This is accompanied by the hindbrain, which is parallel to the forebrain and forms a roughly 45-degree angle with the midbrain.
- Concavenator had arrangements matching quill knobs on its ulna, a characteristic known only in modern birds and other feathered theropods, such as Velociraptor.
- According to research, Concavenator was able to lift animals weighing a maximum of 935 lb (424 kg) in its jaws based on the strength of its neck, jaws, and center of mass.
