Coelurosaurs Fossil range: Middle Jurassic – Late Cretaceous (excluding birds)
Sinosauropteryx, a compsognathid.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Sauropsida Superorder: Dinosauria Order: Saurischia Suborder: Theropoda (unranked) Coelurosauria von Huene, 1914
Sub-groups
Compsognathidae Maniraptora Ornithomimosauria Tyrannosauroidea

Coelurosauria is a diverse group of theropod dinosaurs that includes a number of subgroups, such as Tyrannosauroidea, Ornithomimosauria, and Maniraptora. The Middle Jurassic, called the Dogger in the European system of classification, is the second epoch of the Jurassic period. ... Geography of the US in the late Cretaceous Late Cretaceous (also called the Upper Cretaceous) refers to the second half of the Cretaceous period, named after the famous white chalk cliffs of southern England, which date from this time. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Amnh29sinosaur. ... Binomial name Sinosauropteryx prima Ji Q. & Ji S., 1996 Sinosauropteryx prima (first Chinese lizard-feather) was the first non-avian dinosaur found with the fossilized impressions of feathers. ... Genera Aristosuchus Compsognathus (type) Huaxiagnathus Juravenator Mirischia Sinocalliopteryx Sinosauropteryx Synonyms Sinosauropterygidae Ji & Ji, 1996 Compsognathidae is a family of small carnivorous dinosaurs, generally conservative in form, from the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... “Animalia” redirects here. ... Typical Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... Subclasses Anapsida Diapsida Synonyms Reptilia Laurenti, 1768 Reptiles are tetrapods and amniotes, animals whose embryos are surrounded by an amniotic membrane, and members of the class Sauropsida. ... Orders & Suborders Saurischia Sauropodomorpha Theropoda Ornithischia Thyreophora Ornithopoda Marginocephalia Dinosaurs were vertebrate animals that dominated the terrestrial ecosystem for over 160 million years, first appearing approximately 230 million years ago. ... Groups Sauropodomorpha    Saturnalia    Prosauropoda    Sauropoda Theropoda    Eoraptor    Herrerasauridae    Ceratosauria    Tetanurae       Aves(extant) Saurischians (from the Greek Saurischia meaning lizard hip) are one of the two orders/branches of dinosaurs. ... Subdivisions ?Eoraptor Herrerasauria Coelophysoidea Ceratosauria Cryolophosaurus Spinosauridae Carnosauria Coelurosauria Theropods (beast foot) are a group of bipedal saurischian dinosaurs. ... Friedrich von Huene (March 22, 1875 – April 4, 1969) was a German paleontologist who named more dinosaurs in the early 20th century than anyone else in Europe. ... Genera Aristosuchus Compsognathus (type) Huaxiagnathus Juravenator Mirischia Sinocalliopteryx Sinosauropteryx Synonyms Sinosauropterygidae Ji & Ji, 1996 Compsognathidae is a family of small carnivorous dinosaurs, generally conservative in form, from the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods. ... Subgroups Alvarezsauria Aves Deinonychosauria Oviraptorosauria Therizinosauria Maniraptora is a group used in biological classification to cover the birds and the dinosaurs that were related to them. ... Families Harpymimidae Deinocheiridae Ornithomimidae Ornithomimosaurs (meaning bird mimic lizards) or members of the clade Ornithomimosauria are theropod dinosaurs, like Gallimimus, which bore a superficial resemblance to modern ostriches. ... Genera See text. ... Families See text Theropods (beast foot) are a group of bipedal, primarily carnivorous dinosaurs, belonging to the saurischian (lizard-hip) family. ... Orders & Suborders Saurischia Sauropodomorpha Theropoda Ornithischia Thyreophora Ornithopoda Marginocephalia Dinosaurs were vertebrate animals that dominated the terrestrial ecosystem for over 160 million years, first appearing approximately 230 million years ago. ... Genera See text. ... Families Harpymimidae Deinocheiridae Ornithomimidae Ornithomimosaurs (meaning bird mimic lizards) or members of the clade Ornithomimosauria are theropod dinosaurs, like Gallimimus, which bore a superficial resemblance to modern ostriches. ... Subgroups Alvarezsauria Aves Deinonychosauria Oviraptorosauria Therizinosauria Maniraptora is a group used in biological classification to cover the birds and the dinosaurs that were related to them. ...

Description

Coelurosaur characteristics included a sacrum (series of vertebrae that attach to the hips) longer than in other dinosaurs, a tail stiffened towards the tip, and a bowed ulna (lower arm bone). The tibia (lower leg bone) is also characteristically longer than the femur (upper leg bone) in coelurosaurs. Fossil evidence shows that all coelurosaurs were probably feathered. Prum and Brush stated in a 2002 paper that feathers "originated in a lineage of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaurs including both Sinosauropteryx and birds", and that feathers probably did not exist in more primitive theropod groups, like "allosauroids, ceratosaurids, and coelophysids."^[1] Thus, feathers are trait of advanced theropods (i.e., coelurosaurs), and probably originated in the most primitive members of this group. For the record label, see Sacrum Torch. ... The ulna (Elbow Bone) [Figs. ... This article is about the vertebrate bone. ... The femur or thigh bone is the longest, most voluminous, and strongest bone of the mammalian bodies. ... Two feathers Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds. ... Binomial name Sinosauropteryx prima Ji Q. & Ji S., 1996 Sinosauropteryx prima (first Chinese lizard-feather) was the first non-avian dinosaur found with the fossilized impressions of feathers. ...

Additionally, fossilized traces of feathers have been identified from at least one species in almost every coelurosaur lineage. Feathers are known from compsognathids, tyrannosauroids, oviraptorosaurians, therizinosaurians, alvarezsaurids, dromaeosaurids, and troodontids. All known specimens in the family Scansoriopterygidae are also known from feather-bearing fossils. To date, the only group of coelurosaurs which have not shown direct evidence of feathers are the ornithomimosaurians. Genera Huaxiagnathus Sinosauropteryx Aristosuchus Compsognathus Mirischia Juravenator Sinocalliopteryx Compsognathidae is a family of small carnivorous dinosaurs, generally conservative in form, from the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods. ... ... The Oviraptorosauria are a group of beaked, feathered dinosaurs from the Cretaceous of Asia and North America. ... Genera See text. ... Genera Alvarezsaurus ?Heptasteornis Mononykus Parvicursor Patagonykus Shuvuuia Alvarezsauridae is an enigmatic family of small, long-legged running dinosaurs, which are usually classified as primitive birds. ... Genera Achillobator Adasaurus Bambiraptor Cryptovolans Dromaeosaurus Deinonychus Gracilraptor Microraptor Pyroraptor Saurornitholestes Sinornithosaurus Utahraptor Variraptor Velociraptor Among the dinosaurs, the Dromaeosaurids or Dromaeosauridae (running lizards) were fast and agile dominant carnivores throughout the Cretaceous period. ... Genera See text. ... Genera Epidendrosaurus Scansoriopteryx Scansoriopterygidae (climbing wings) is a family of maniraptoran dinosaurs known from well-preserved fossils uncovered in Liaoning, China. ...

Most coelurosaurs were bipedal predators and the group includes some of the largest (Tyrannosaurus) and smallest (Microraptor, Parvicursor) carnivorous dinosaurs discovered thus far. Modern birds are classified by most palaeontologists (but not by all ornithologists^[2]) as an extant group of coelurosaurs (in the subgroup Maniraptora).^[3] Binomial name Tyrannosaurus rex Osborn, 1905 Synonyms Manospondylus Cope, 1892 Dynamosaurus Osborn, 1905 Nanotyrannus? Bakker, Williams & Currie, 1988 Stygivenator Olshevsky, 1995 Dinotyrannus Olshevsky, 1995 Tyrannosaurus (IPA pronunciation or ; from the Greek τυραννόσαυρος, meaning tyrant lizard) is a genus of tyrannosaurid theropod dinosaur. ... Microraptor was a small, bird-like dinosaur related to the dromaeosaurs. ... Binomial name Parvicursor remotus Karhu & Rautian, 1996 Parvicursor remotus was a tiny Alvarezsaurian dinosaur, with long slender legs for fast running. ... “Aves” redirects here. ... This is a list of ornithologists who have articles, in alphabetical order by surname. ...

Classification

The coelurosaurs have proven to be an incredibly diverse group since they were originally named as an infraorder (complimenting the Infraorder Carnosauria). After the 1960s, when several distinctive lineages of coelurosaurs were recognized, a number of new infraorders were erected, including the Ornithomimosauria, Deinonychosauria, Oviraptorosauria, and Therizinosauria (formerly known as Segnosauria). Most modern studies follow phylogenetic nomenclature and refrain from assigning ranks, and those that do use ranks, such as Micheal Benton, have refrained from including the various coelurosaur infraorders in their taxonomies, referring instead to more exclusive individual families. Families Harpymimidae Deinocheiridae Ornithomimidae Ornithomimosaurs (meaning bird mimic lizards) or members of the clade Ornithomimosauria are theropod dinosaurs, like Gallimimus, which bore a superficial resemblance to modern ostriches. ... Families Dromaeosauridae Troodontidae The Deinonychosauria were a successful clade of theropods in the Cretaceous period. ... The Oviraptorosauria are a group of beaked, feathered dinosaurs from the Cretaceous of Asia and North America. ... Genera Alxasaurus elesitaiensis Beipiaosaurus inexpectus Chilantaisaurus zheziangensis Enigmosaurus mongoliensis Erlikosaurus andrewsi Falcarius utahensis Nanshiungosaurus brevispinus Nanshiungosaurus bohlini Segnosaurus galbinensis Therizinosaurus cheloniformis Therizinosauria is a family of dinosaur species with related characteristics. ... Families Alxasauridae Therizinosauridae Therizinosaurs (or Segnosaurs) were theropod dinosaurs and members of the clade Therizinosauroidea. ... The references in this article would be clearer with a different and/or consistent style of citation, footnoting or external linking. ...

Traditional 'Coelurosaurs'

Like Carnosauria for large theropods, the Coelurosauria had traditionally been used as a 'dumping ground' for all small theropods but analysis, in the 1980s and 1990s, revealed that some 'coelurosaurs' were actually more primitive theropods, most notably the coelophysids. Additionally, some dinosaur groups long thought to belong to the Carnosauria, the tyrannosaurids, turned out to be giant coelurosaurs. The large, herbivorous/omnivorous segnosaurs, once thought to be related to either sauropods or ornithischians, have similarly turned out to be coelurosaurs. Families Allosauridae    Allosaurinae    ?Carcharodontosaurinae Sinraptoridae Carnosauria is a sub-group of Theropoda, a group of predatory dinosaurs. ... Families Coelophysidae Coelophysoids were common dinosaurs of the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic periods. ... Families Allosauridae    Allosaurinae    ?Carcharodontosaurinae Sinraptoridae Carnosauria is a sub-group of Theropoda, a group of predatory dinosaurs. ... Genera See text. ... Genera Alxasaurus elesitaiensis Beipiaosaurus inexpectus Chilantaisaurus zheziangensis Enigmosaurus mongoliensis Erlikosaurus andrewsi Falcarius utahensis Nanshiungosaurus brevispinus Nanshiungosaurus bohlini Segnosaurus galbinensis Therizinosaurus cheloniformis Therizinosauria is a family of dinosaur species with related characteristics. ... Groups Saturnalia Prosauropoda Sauropoda The Sauropodomorpha were a group of long-necked, herbivorous dinosaurs that eventually dropped down on all fours and became the largest animals that ever the walked the earth. ... Suborders Thyreophora Cerapoda    Ornithopoda    Marginocephalia Ornithischia is an order of beaked, herbivorous dinosaurs. ...

Taxonomy

Taxonomy after Benton, 2004. Note that Benton included the oviraptorids as Order Oviraptorosauria within Class Aves.^[4]

• Division Coelurosauria
  • Family Coeluridae (including Compsognathidae)
  • Subdivision Maniraptoriformes
    • Family Tyrannosauridae
    • Family Ornithomimidae
    • Infradivision Maniraptora
      • Family Alvarezsauridae
      • Family Therizinosauridae
      • Cohort Deinonychosauria
        • Family Dromaeosauridae
        • Family Troodontidae
        • Class Aves (including Oviraptorosauria)

Subclades Coelurus Tanycolagreus ?Compsognathinae Coeluridae is a family of generally small, carnivorous dinosaurs from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. ... Genera Aristosuchus Compsognathus (type) Huaxiagnathus Juravenator Mirischia Sinocalliopteryx Sinosauropteryx Synonyms Sinosauropterygidae Ji & Ji, 1996 Compsognathidae is a family of small carnivorous dinosaurs, generally conservative in form, from the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods. ... Subclades Ornithomimoidea Maniraptora Maniraptoriformes is a clade that contain ornithomimoids and maniraptors. ... Genera See text. ... Genera Anserimimus Archaeornithomimus Deinocheirus ? Dromiceiomimus Gallimimus Garudimimus Harpymimus Ornithomimus Pelecanimimus Shenzhousaurus Struthiomimus Ornithomimids (Bird mimics) or members of the Ornithomimidae family are theropod dinosaurs, like Gallimimus. ... Subgroups Alvarezsauria Aves Deinonychosauria Oviraptorosauria Therizinosauria Maniraptora is a group used in biological classification to cover the birds and the dinosaurs that were related to them. ... Genera Alvarezsaurus ?Heptasteornis Mononykus Parvicursor Patagonykus Shuvuuia Alvarezsauridae is an enigmatic family of small, long-legged running dinosaurs, which are usually classified as primitive birds. ... Genera Alxasaurus elesitaiensis Chilantaisaurus zheziangensis Enigmosaurus mongoliensis Erlikosaurus andrewsi Nanshiungosaurus brevispinus Nanshiungosaurus bohlini Nothronychus mckinleyi Segnosaurus galbinensis Therizinosaurus cheloniformis Falcarius utahensis Therizinosauridae is a family of dinosaur species with related characteristics, belonging to the more including group of the Therizinosauroidea. ... Families Dromaeosauridae Troodontidae The Deinonychosauria were a successful clade of theropods in the Cretaceous period. ... Genera Achillobator Adasaurus Atrociraptor Bambiraptor Buitreraptor Cryptovolans Deinonychus Dromaeosaurus Dromaeosauroides Graciliraptor Microraptor Neuquenraptor Pyroraptor Rahonavis Saurornitholestes Sinornithosaurus Tsaagan Unenlagia Utahraptor Variraptor Velociraptor Dromaeosaurids, raptors or members of the family Dromaeosauridae (running lizards from Greek dromeus (δρομευς) meaning runner and sauros (σαυρος) meaning lizard) are theropod dinosaurs. ... Genera See text. ... For other meanings of bird, see bird (disambiguation). ... The Oviraptorosauria are a group of beaked, feathered dinosaurs from the Cretaceous of Asia and North America. ...

Phylogeny

The following cladogram is adapted after Weishampel, Dodson, and Osmólska, 2004. They define Coelurosauria as those dinosaurs sharing a more recent common ancestor with the House Sparrow than with Allosaurus fragilis.^[5] Greek clados = branch) or phylogenetic systematics is a branch of biology that determines the evolutionary relationships of living things based on derived similarities. ... Binomial name Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) The House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) is a member of the Old World sparrow family Passeridae. ... Species type (Marsh, 1878) Paul, 1987 Mateus , 2006 jimmadseni Chure, 2000 vide Glut, 2003 Synonyms Creosaurus Marsh, 1878 Labrosaurus Marsh, 1879 Camptonotus Marsh, 1879  ?Epanterias Cope, 1878 Allosaurus (IPA: ) was a large (up to 11. ...

"Coelurosaurus"

"Coelurosaurus" is an informal generic name, attributed to Friedrich von Huene, 1929 (sometimes incorrectly given as 1914), that is sometimes seen in lists of dinosaurs. It is probably a typographical error; von Huene intended to assign indeterminate remains to Coelurosauria incertae sedis, but at some point in the process of publication, the text was revised to make it appear that he was creating a new generic name "Coelurosaurus" (as described by George Olshevsky in a 1999 post to the Dinosaur Mailing List).^[6] The name is undescribed and has not been used seriously, although it has appeared in works of fiction. This page is a candidate for speedy deletion, because: it is patent nonsense. ... For other uses of the word, please see Genus (disambiguation). ... Friedrich von Huene (March 22, 1875 – April 4, 1969) was a German paleontologist who named more dinosaurs in the early 20th century than anyone else in Europe. ... A typographical error or typo is a mistake made during the typing process. ... Incertae sedis—of uncertain position (seat)—is a term used to define a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. ... George Olshevsky is a freelance editor, writer, publisher, paleontologist, and mathematician living in San Diego, California. ...

References

2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... January 29 is the 29th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• See entry on "Coelurosauria" at DinoData (registration required, free). DinoData
• Lark Quarry, Queensland, Australia. Lark Quarry.

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