Pronunciation: HIP-no-VEN-uh-tuh
Meaning: Sleep hunter
Author/s: Kubota et al. (2024)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Hyogo Prefecture, Japan
Discovery Chart Position: #1136
Hypnovenator matsubaraetoheorum
(Matsubara and Ohe's Sleep Hunter)Etymology
Hypnovenator is derived from the Greek "hypno" (sleep) and the Latin "venator" (hunter), referring to the sleeping position that the specimen was preserved in.The species epithet, matsubaraetoheorum, honours Kaoru Matsubara and Takaharu Ohe, who discovered the first remains of Hypnovenator in crushing rocks at Nishikosa during the construction of a public park. ZooBank registry: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:C3398111-FCE7-4624-AE03-38170349345D
Discovery
The first remains of Hypnovenator were discovered in the Ohyamashimo Formation (Sasayama Group) at Hyogo Prefectural Tamba Namikimichi Central Park, Nishikosa, Tambasasayama City, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, by Kaoru Matsubara and Takaharu Ohe of the amateur research group "Sasayama-sougun wo shiraberu kai", in September 2010. A second block containing more fossils was found at the same site during an excavation by Hyogo's Museum of Nature and Human Activities in 2011.
The holotype (MNHAH D1033340) includes two tail vertebrae and a chevron, two back ribs, thirty-eight belly ribs (gastralia), most of a left arm, a right hand bone, a partial left leg, part of a right shin, both ankles and bones from both feet.
Preparator
Kazumi Wada of the Museum of Nature and Human Activities, Hyogo, Japan.
