Philovenator, which was formerly thought to be a Sauornithoides, is an extinct genus of Troodontidae whose species was described in 2012 by Xu Xing, Zhao Qi, Corwin Sullivan, Tang Qingwei, Martin Sander and Ma Qingyu.
Discovered was only its left hind leg IVPP V 10597, found in 1988 by the China-Canada Dinosaur Project in the Wulansuhai Formation, which significantly differs from that of other troodontids, proposing an entirely new species; Philovenator curriei. Despite the small holotype, growth lines in the femur of the specimen V 10597 indicated an age of at least one year, concluding Philovenator to be much smaller than its relatives which provides us with another reason for it to be regarded as a seperate taxon.