EXPLORE PREHISTORY 220 prehistoric animal profiles · Scientific & movie-style image galleries
DinoGrove.
The collection/Concavenator

EXHIBIT 76

Concavenator

Concavenator corcovatus

Concavenator was a meat-eating theropod from Early Cretaceous Spain with a pointed back structure. Its possible forearm feather attachments remain disputed.

Evidence profile

TWO WAYS TO PICTURE THE PAST

Compare the evidence with the familiar movie image. The illustrations are not to a shared scale.

01 / SKELETAL RECONSTRUCTION

A framework from the fossils

Mounted Concavenator skeleton photographed in Japan, with two tall back spines visible behind the shoulders.

Reconstructed Concavenator corcovatus skeleton photographed in Japan. The two neighboring tall back spines are bony anatomy; the mount's pose and missing parts are reconstructed. It does not resolve living color, hump soft tissues or the disputed forearm-quill interpretation. [1]

Concavenator skeleton · ケラトプスユウタ. CC BY-SA 4.0. Commons-listed 1280 px preview converted to WebP; smaller responsive copy resized. No crop or color changes; these copies remain CC BY-SA 4.0.

Skeletal mounts and drawings may restore missing parts; the caption identifies the displayed material.

02 / MOVIE-STYLE INTERPRETATION

A cinematic imagination

Illustrative reconstruction of Concavenator with a pointed hump over its hips; colors and soft-tissue details are interpretive.

Original cinematic interpretation of Concavenator. Anatomy, soft tissues and colors are reconstructed choices. Lighting, coloration and scenery are artistic choices. This image does not document a fossil locality or behavior.

Original artwork · artistic interpretation.

Scientific view: source-informed reconstruction, credited paleoart or specimen-based imagery. Movie-style view: Original artistic interpretation. Reconstructions involve uncertainty.

PERIODEarly Cretaceous[1]
DIETCarnivoreEvidence and uncertainty in the dossier
TOTAL LENGTHSee the dossierEstimate scope matters
FOSSILS FOUNDSpain, Cuenca[1]
CompareRead the dossierView the sources

MEET THE ANIMAL

Meet Concavenator

Concavenator corcovatus was an Early Cretaceous dinosaur from Spain. Its limb bones place it among theropods, the group that includes many familiar meat-eating dinosaurs. Researchers use comparisons with related skeletons to reconstruct it standing on its hind legs. The fossils do not provide a measured running speed or a record of its usual hunting routine. [D3]

The skull was flattened during burial, so understanding its original shape required reconstruction. Researchers combined photographs and comparisons to build a three-dimensional model. Preserved scales on parts of the feet and tail provide another kind of evidence: pieces of the animal's outer covering, rather than just the supporting bones beneath it. [D2]

Small bumps on a forearm bone have been interpreted as attachment points for feather-like structures. That idea remains disputed because the position and spacing of the bumps allow other explanations. They are not feathers preserved in the rock. Concavenator shows why a suggested soft-tissue feature should stay separate from directly preserved skin. [D4]

PREHISTORIC ANIMAL DOSSIER

A life in profile.

The animal, the evidence, and the questions still open.

Concavenator preserves tall back spines; their covering and the forearm bumps remain uncertain.

Profile scope: Species: Concavenator corcovatus, chiefly the nearly complete Las Hoyas holotype MCCM-LH 6666. The roughly 6 m size applies to this fossil, not a measured species range.

Time
Early Cretaceous
Fossil locations in this exhibit
Spain, Cuenca
How to read the evidence

Source supported identifies a description documented by the cited source. Inferred marks a reconstruction or functional estimate. Debated marks competing interpretations. Not established means the sources reviewed for this dossier do not support a firm conclusion; it does not mean a behavior never occurred.

A size reference is an estimate, not a population range. Nesting evidence does not by itself establish courtship, mate choice, or lifelong pairing.

Length

Inferred

About 6 m (holotype reference)

The original description gives this approximate length for its nearly complete skeleton. It does not establish an adult average, maximum or population range. [D1]

Mass

Not established

Not established here

No adequately scoped body-mass estimate was established in the inspected sources.

Diet and feeding

Inferred

Meat eater

Skull anatomy supports carnivory. The reviewed team account does not identify a particular prey species or demonstrate pack hunting. [D2]

Habitat and setting

Source supported

Barremian Las Hoyas, Spain

The holotype came from the Lower Cretaceous Las Hoyas fossil site in Cuenca. Burial at a fossil site does not alone establish the animal's preferred habitat. [D1]

Movement

Inferred

Hindlimb-supported walking inferred

Limb anatomy and comparison with other allosauroid theropods support bipedal reconstruction. Speed and exact gait are not established by the reviewed abstract. [D3]

Distinctive anatomy

Debated

Back spines; disputed forearm quill evidence

Two elongated vertebral spines formed a pointed back structure. Ulnar bumps were interpreted as quill attachments, but their position and spacing leave that interpretation disputed; they are not preserved feathers. [D1] [D4]

Reproduction & life together

Reproduction and care

Not established

Not established here

The inspected sources do not establish Concavenator nesting, incubation or parental care.

Courtship and mating

Not established

Not established here

A distinctive back structure does not by itself demonstrate sexual display, dimorphism or a mating system.

Social behavior

Not established

Not established here

The holotype does not establish pack hunting, herd membership or solitary behavior.

Dossier research & sources

Sources and inspection notes for the claims in this profile.

  1. A bizarre, humped Carcharodontosauria (Theropoda) from the Lower Cretaceous of SpainNature; Ortega, Escaso and Sanz (2010) · Accessed 2026-10-02Inspected abstract and publisher preview: nearly complete holotype, approximate 6 m length, Las Hoyas age/locality, elongate back spines and proposed quill-knob interpretation. · Inspected: abstract
  2. Concavenator Skull ReconstructedUniversidad Autónoma de Madrid; research-team account (2018) · Accessed 2026-10-02Researcher account of skull reconstruction, carnivory and preserved foot/tail scales; no reconstructed color or display behavior established. · Inspected: page
  3. Appendicular osteology of Concavenator corcovatus from the Lower Cretaceous of SpainJournal of Vertebrate Paleontology; Cuesta, Ortega and Sanz (2018), publisher Figshare record · Accessed 2026-10-02Inspected indexed abstract for MCCM-LH 6666 limb anatomy and comparison with allosauroids; complete paper not inspected. · Inspected: abstract
  4. The Origin of Birds: Current Consensus, Controversy, and the Occurrence of FeathersThe Evolution of Feathers; Rauhut and Foth (2020), University of Fribourg institutional manuscript · Accessed 2026-10-02Inspected feather-evidence section describing the position/spacing debate and disputed interpretation of Concavenator ulnar bumps. · Inspected: excerpt

THE STORY IN THE FOSSILS

Meet Concavenator.

Concavenator corcovatus was described in 2010 from a nearly complete skeleton at Las Hoyas, Spain. Two unusually tall vertebral spines produced its conspicuous back outline, but the function of that structure is not securely established. [1]

Its skull was compressed during burial. Researchers later used photogrammetry and comparisons with related dinosaurs to build a three-dimensional reconstruction. Scales survive on parts of the feet and tail, while the proposed feather attachments on the forearm remain a separate, debated line of evidence. [2] [4]

A note on scale and time

The dossier identifies the scope of each reference estimate. A mount, an individual fossil and a species-wide adult range are different measurements. Comparison metrics remain unavailable where adult scope has not been established. Unknown does not mean zero.

Sources & editorial notes

Sources support the stated claims and scopes. Refer to the evidence notes for uncertainty.

  1. A bizarre, humped Carcharodontosauria (Theropoda) from the Lower Cretaceous of SpainNature; Ortega, Escaso and Sanz (2010) · Accessed 2026-10-02Inspected abstract and publisher preview: nearly complete holotype, approximate 6 m length, Las Hoyas age/locality, elongate back spines and proposed quill-knob interpretation. · Inspected: abstract
  2. Concavenator Skull ReconstructedUniversidad Autónoma de Madrid; research-team account (2018) · Accessed 2026-10-02Researcher account of skull reconstruction, carnivory and preserved foot/tail scales; no reconstructed color or display behavior established. · Inspected: page
  3. Appendicular osteology of Concavenator corcovatus from the Lower Cretaceous of SpainJournal of Vertebrate Paleontology; Cuesta, Ortega and Sanz (2018), publisher Figshare record · Accessed 2026-10-02Inspected indexed abstract for MCCM-LH 6666 limb anatomy and comparison with allosauroids; complete paper not inspected. · Inspected: abstract
  4. The Origin of Birds: Current Consensus, Controversy, and the Occurrence of FeathersThe Evolution of Feathers; Rauhut and Foth (2020), University of Fribourg institutional manuscript · Accessed 2026-10-02Inspected feather-evidence section describing the position/spacing debate and disputed interpretation of Concavenator ulnar bumps. · Inspected: excerpt

FOLLOW YOUR CURIOSITY

Who will you meet next?

KEEP EXPLORING

More from the collection