article for July 2, 2020

Article of the day for July 2, 2020 is Ichthyovenator.
Ichthyovenator is a genus of spinosaurid dinosaurs that lived in what is now Laos, sometime between 125 and 113 million years ago. The fossils of a single specimen were found between 2010 and 2014 and became the holotype of the new genus and species Ichthyovenator laosensis. It is estimated to have been 8.5 to 10.5 metres (28 to 34 feet) long and weighed around 2.4 tonnes (2.6 short tons). Ichthyovenator is considered a primitive member of the Spinosaurinae and would have had a long, shallow snout and robust forelimbs. It had a sail on its back that may have been used for sexual display or species recognition. The diet of Ichthyovenator (meaning "fish hunter") probably consisted mainly of aquatic prey. Spinosaurids were probably adapted for semiaquatic lifestyles, and also ate small dinosaurs and pterosaurs. The tall vertebral spines of Ichthyovenator's tail suggest that it may have aided in swimming—as in today's crocodilians.