Fossils of Riojavenatrix were discovered in 2005 at the Virgen del Villar-1 site in La Rioja, Spain. The holotype of Riojavenatrix is a fragmentary dorsal vertebra, pelvic girdle, and hindlimb elements that were initially assigned to Baryonyx. Apparently, all the material belonged to the same individual because it was recovered in association with bones of consistent size and no duplicated elements.[1]
It was named as a new genus of spinosaurid theropod in 2024. The generic name, Riojavenatrix, comes from La Rioja province in Spain, plus the Latin venatrix, meaning "huntress". The specific name, "lacustris", is Latin for "from the lake".[1]
Classification
Riojavenatrix was assigned to Spinosauridae based on the features of the pubis and femur, and more precisely to Baryonychinae based on the features of the femur, fibula, and tibia. Its astragalus also bears some similarity to Spinosaurinae. It is one of the youngest baryonychines known, and the fifth spinosaurid found in the Iberian Peninsula.[1]
The following cladograms illustrate the results of the analyzes obtained by the authors of the Riojavenatrix description using different data sets. The first tree shows several alternative positions.[1]
In their 2025 reassessment of Camarillasaurus, Rauhut and colleagues found support for a baryonychine placement of Riojavenatrix.[4]
References
123456Isasmendi, E.; Cuesta, E.; Díaz-Martínez, I.; Company, J.; Sáez-Benito, P.; Viera, L. I.; Torices, A.; Pereda-Suberbiola, P. (2024). "Increasing the theropod record of Europe: a new basal spinosaurid from the Enciso Group of the Cameros Basin (La Rioja, Spain). Evolutionary implications and palaeobiodiversity". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 202 (3). doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad193.
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