Meet Saltriovenator zanellai, the first Jurassic dinosaur from Italy
A simplified evolutionary tree of predatory dinosaurs (theropods). During the Jurassic, the three-fingered tetanuran theropods appeared, giving rise to birds.
Andrea Cau
A skeletal reconstruction of Saltriovenator zanellai, made by comparing the shape and proportions of known elements (in orange) with those of more complete skeletons of related species.
Marco Auditore
An outline map of Italy highlighting Lombardy and the position of Saltrio, the locality where Angelo Zanella discovered the dinosaur now named after him.
Simone Maganuco
At the Natural History Museum of Milan, study authors Cristiano Dal Sasso, Simone Maganuco and Andrea Cau examine the bones of Saltriovenator.
Gabriele Bindellini
Cristiano Dal Sasso, left, and Angelo Zanella match the shoulder girdle and right forelimb of Saltriovenator with a life-size silhouette of the dinosaur.