Dragon Hunters

Dinosaurs and fossil hunters have been referred to as dragons and dragon hunters for centuries now; however, there is only one dinosaur whose name means "Dragon Hunter": Dracovenator regenti Yates 2005. A dilophosaurid discovered in the South African foothills of Drakensberg ("Dragon's Mountain": Dutch), Dracovenator consists of cranial material from early Jurassic rocks near the borders of Lesotho, a small country contained within South Africa. The characteristic shape of a dilophosaurid skull is apparent in the remains of Dracovenator in both the adult (holotype) and referred juvenile materials (reassigned from Syntarsus to Dracovenator by Munyikwa and Raath 1999). The estimated size of Dracovenator, extrapolated from related animal sizes and the cranial material available, is between 5.5 and 7 meters (18 and 23 ft) from snout to tail and weighing upwards of 400 kg (882 lbs).