GW PALEO Field Notes

Xenovenator robustus was a feathered, relatively large troodontid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period, specifically the Campanian age, around 74 to 72 million years ago. Fossils of the genus Xenovenator have been discovered in the Cerro del Pueblo Formation of Coahuila, Mexico, and Xenovenator robustus itself may also be present in the Kirtland Formation of New Mexico, USA.

This "strange hunter," as its name translates to, stood out due to its unusually thick and domed skull roof, featuring fused and interlocking bones. This unique cranial structure suggests that, much like the dome-headed pachycephalosaurs, Xenovenator robustus might have engaged in intraspecific combat, possibly head-butting, an adaptation rarely observed in other non-avian maniraptoran dinosaurs. This feathered predator also likely possessed the distinctive sickle-shaped toe-claw characteristic of troodontids and could reach nearly 3 meters in length. Interestingly, Xenovenator robustus was initially classified under the dromaeosaurid Saurornitholestes before being reinterpreted and tentatively assigned to the Xenovenator genus.