Dinosaurs · Small theropod

Sinovenator

Say it sien-oh-vee-nay-tor. The name means ‘Chinese hunter’.

Sinovenator beside a person 1.75 m tall. Ticks mark every metre.Body shape drawn for this site, showing the general build of small theropods
Length
1 m
Diet
Meat-eater
When
Early Cretaceous127 to 121 million years ago
Fossils found in
China
Named by
Xu, Norell, Wang, Makovicky and Wu (2002)
Family tree
Dinosauria › Saurischia › Theropoda › Troodontidae
TriassicJurassicCretaceousSinovenator252 Ma66 Ma
Where Sinovenator sits in the age of dinosaurs.Periods from the ICS chart; dinosaur dates from the Natural History Museum

Small theropods. Small two-legged dinosaurs, many feathered, the group that includes birds. See all 60

Lived at the same time

Other small theropods

Source: Sinovenator in the Natural History Museum Dino Directory, read 12 November 2026. Sizes are the museum's estimates for a typical adult. "Lived at the same time" lists dinosaurs whose dates overlap, which does not always mean they met.