One of the more recent developments in the classification of dinosaurs is the 2009 addition of the family Neovenatoridae. The neovenatorids are the last of the allosauroids, relatives of the Jurassic Allosaurus and the Cretaceous giant Giganotosaurus. Neovenatorids range in time from the Early Cretaceous, 128 million years ago, to about 70 million years ago. They are known from South America, Australia, East Asia, and Europe.
Many neovenatorids are characterized by large thumb claws, especially Megaraptor and Australovenator. 7 species across 7 genera are known from this family, placing it in the middle range for diversity among dinosaurs (compare to 9 genera in Tyrannosauridae and 2 in Psittacosauridae).
The type species, Neovenator, is somewhat of an anomaly among the family, being the only species of neovenatorid known outside of the southern regions of the world. It is outclassed only by Aerosteon in size, at 7.5 meters in length. The other species of the family probably averaged somewhere around 4.5 - 5 meters.
Neovenator was described by Martill and Barker in 1996, and the family was described by Benson, Carrano, and Brusatte in 2009.
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