Dromaeosaurids Fossil range: Jurassic - Cretaceous
Model of Microraptor at the American Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Sauropsida Superorder: Dinosauria Order: Saurischia Suborder: Theropoda Infraorder: Deinonychosauria Family: Dromaeosauridae Matthew & Brown, 1922
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. They were mainly small, gracile carnivores that flourished in the Cretaceous Period. In popular usage they are often called "raptors" after the Velociraptor (which was made famous by the film Jurassic Park) and their similarities to modern carnivorous birds of prey, which are also commonly called raptors. // The image above is believed to be a replaceable fair use image. ... The Cretaceous Period is one of the major divisions of the geologic timescale, reaching from the end of the Jurassic Period (i. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Amnh30. ... Microraptor was a small, bird-like dinosaur related to the dromaeosaurs. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... Digimon, the only known animals. ... Typical Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... Clades Subclass Anapsida Subclass Diapsida Infraclass Lepidosauromorpha Infraclass Archosauromorpha Sauropsids are a diverse group of mostly egg-laying vertebrate animals. ... 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. ... Families Dromaeosauridae Troodontidae The Deinonychosauria were a successful clade of theropods in the Cretaceous period. ... For other uses of the word, please see Genus (disambiguation). ... Binomial name Achillobator giganticus , Achillobator giganticus was a carnivorous dinosaur. ... Binomial name Amphicoelias fragillimus Richen Barsbold, 1983 Adasaurus (Ada Lizard) was a bird-like carnivorous dinosaur that lived 70 million years ago, during the late Cretaceous Period. ... Binomial name Atrociraptor marshalli Currie and Varricchio, 2004 Atrociraptor marshalli (Marshalls cruel thief) is a dromaeosaurid dinosaur species from the Upper Cretaceous (Upper Maastrichtian) of Alberta, Canada. ... Binomial name Bambiraptor feinbergi Burnham , 2000 Bambiraptor is a 75 million year old bird-like dinosaur discovered by scientists at the University of Kansas, Yale University, and the University of New Orleans. ... Binomial name Buitreraptor gonzalezorum Makovicky, Apesteguía & Agnolin, 2005 Buitreraptor was a rooster-size predatory dinosaur belonging to the dromaeosaurid family. ... Cryptovolans pauli is a 90 cm long feathered dromaeosaurid dinosaur recently discovered in the Jiufotang site, China. ... Binomial name Deinonychus antirrhopus Ostrom, 1969 Deinonychus (IPA ) meaning terrible claw (Greek δεινος meaning terrible and ονυξ/ονυχος meaning claw) was a jaguar-sized, carnivorous dromaeosaurid dinosaur species from the Early Cretaceous Period. ... Species (type species) Dromaeosaurus (drom-ee-oh-SAWR-us) meaning running lizard (Greek dromaios = swift-runner + sauros = lizard) is a wolf-sized theropod dinosaur genus from the Upper Cretaceous (Upper Campanian) of Alberta, Canada. ... Binomial name Dromaeosauroides bornholmensis Christiansen & Bonde, 2003 Dromaeosauroides is the name given to a genus of dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous. ... Binomial name Graciliraptor lujiatunensis Xu & Wang, 2004 Graciliraptor is the name given to a genus of dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous. ... Microraptor was a small, bird-like dinosaur related to the dromaeosaurs. ... Species N. argentinus Novas & Pol, 2005 Neuquenraptor argentinus is the first dromaeosaurid found from the southern hemisphere. ... Binomial name Pyroraptor olympius Allain & Taquet, 2000 Pyroraptor (fire thief) was a small, bird like dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous (76-74 million years ago). ... Rahonavis, from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar, is the subject of some controversy as to its proper taxonomic position--whether it is a member of the crown clade Aves or a closely related dromaeosaur. ... Saurornitholestes langstoni is a coyote-sized carnivorous dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of North America. ... Species (type) Sinornithosaurus (derived from a combination of Latin and Greek, meaning Chinese lizard-bird) is a feathered dromaeosaurid dinosaur genus from the Lower Cretaceous Period (Middle Barremian) of the Yixian Formation in what is now China. ... Binomial name Tsaagan mangas Norell , 2006 Tsaagan (white) is a genus of dromaeosaurid dinosaur from the Djadokhta Formation of late Cretaceous Mongolia. ... Species (type) Calvo, Porfiri & Kellner, 2004 Unenlagia (meaning half-bird) was a genus of theropod dinosaur of the family Dromaeosauridae. ... Binomial name Utahraptor ostrommaysorum Kirkland, Gaston & Burge, 1993 Utahraptor (Utah thief) is the largest known member of the theropod dinosaur family Dromaeosauridae, and dates from the upper Barremian stage of the Lower Cretaceous period (126 million years ago). ... Variraptor (VAHR-i-RAP-tor - (Latin) Varus for a name of a river + (Latin) raptor meaning thief) named after the Var River and the Var Department in the Provence region of southern France, to indicate a maniraptoran theropod found in the Gres a Reptiles Formation at La Bastide Neuve, near... Binomial name Velociraptor mongoliensis Osborn, 1924 Velociraptor (IPA: RP , GA ; meaning swift thief) is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur that existed approximately 83 to 70 million years ago during the later part of the Cretaceous Period. ... 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. ... This tigers sharp teeth and strong jaws are the classical physical traits expected from carnivorous mammalian predators A carnivore (IPA: ), meaning meat eater (Latin carne meaning flesh and vorare meaning to devour), is an animal that eats a diet consisting mainly of meat, whether it comes from live animals... The Cretaceous Period is one of the major divisions of the geologic timescale, reaching from the end of the Jurassic Period (i. ... A geologic period is a subdivision of geologic time that divides an era into smaller timeframes. ... Binomial name Velociraptor mongoliensis Osborn, 1924 Velociraptor (IPA: RP , GA ; meaning swift thief) is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur that existed approximately 83 to 70 million years ago during the later part of the Cretaceous Period. ... Jurassic Park is a 1993 science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg, based upon the novel of the same name written by Michael Crichton. ... Orders Accipitriformes     Cathartidae     Pandionidae     Accipitridae     Sagittariidae Falconiformes     Falconidae A bird of prey or raptor is a bird that hunts its food, especially one that preys on mammals or other birds. ...

Dromaeosaurids have been found in North America, Europe, North Africa, Japan, China, Mongolia, Madagascar and Argentina. They first appeared in the Mid-Jurassic period (Bathonian stage, 167 million years ago) and survived until the end of the Cretaceous (Maastrichtian stage, 65.5 ma), existing for over 100 million years, up until the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event. Jurassic dromaeosaurs are known primarily from teeth (Metcalf et al., 1992). World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... This article is 150 kilobytes or more in size. ...  Northern Africa (UN subregion)  geographic, including above North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, generally divided by the formidable barrier of the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Africa. ... In the geologic timescale, the Bathonian is the age of the Middle Jurassic epoch of the Jurassic period of the Mesozoic era of the Phanerozoic eon that is comprehended between 167 million 700 thousand and 164 million 700 thousand years ago, approximatedly. ... Mega-annum, usually abbreviated as Ma, is a unit of time equal to one million years. ... The Maastrichtian is the last age of the Cretaceous period, and therefore of the Mesozoic era. ... Badlands near Drumheller, Alberta where erosion has exposed the KT boundary. ...

Characteristics

Dromaeosaurs were small to medium-sized dinosaurs, ranging from about 2-20 feet in length. Like other theropods, they walked on their hind legs, however the large, curved second toe claw was apparently held retracted, with the third and fourth toes bearing the weight of the animal. There is currently disagreement about the second toe claw's function in these dinosaurs' predatory behaviour. When it was described for Deinonychus on Ostrom (1969), the interpretation of the claw in life was that of a blade-like slashing weapon, much like the canines of some saber-toothed cats. It would be used with powerful kicks to disembowel prey; interpretation that later on was commonly held to apply to most, if not all, dromaeosaurids. However, Manning et al. (2005) have argued that it served as a hook, reconstructing the keratinous sheath with an elliptical cross section, instead of the previously inferred inverted teardrop shape. In this recent interpretation, the second toe claw would be used as a climbing aid when subduing bigger prey and also as stabbing weapon. The long tail of dromaeosaurs had a flexible base, but most of its length was stiffened by bony tendons. It has been proposed that this tail was used as a stabilizer; in Microraptor gui the tail ended in a small, diamond-shaped fan of feathers which may have been used as an aerodynamic stabilizer and rudder. There is suggestive evidence that some dromaeosaurids hunted in packs: Deinonychus fossils have been uncovered in small groups near the remains of the herbivore Tenontosaurus tilletti, a larger ornithischian dinosaur. Not all paleontologists find the evidence conclusive, however. Species Homotherium serum Homotherium latidens Homotherium aethiopicum Homotherium hadarensis Homotherium nestianus Homotherium nihowanensis Homotherium sainzelli Homotherium ultimum Homotherium crenatidens Homotherium cenatidens Homotherium is a machairodontine saber-toothed cat genus that lived approximately 3 million to 10,000 years ago in North America, Eurasia and Africa. ... Binomial name Deinonychus antirrhopus Ostrom, 1969 Deinonychus (IPA ) meaning terrible claw (Greek δεινος meaning terrible and ονυξ/ονυχος meaning claw) was a jaguar-sized, carnivorous dromaeosaurid dinosaur species from the Early Cretaceous Period. ... Tenontosaurus was an Iguanodont from Early Cretaceous North America. ... Suborders Thyreophora Cerapoda    Ornithopoda    Marginocephalia Ornithischia is an order of beaked, herbivorous dinosaurs. ... A paleontologist carefully chips rock from a column of dinosaur vertebrae. ...

Relationship with birds

Main article: Feathered dinosaurs

Dromaeosaurids are theropods, and may be the sister taxon to Aves (birds), although there is mounting evidence (including the Thermopolis specimen of Archaeopteryx which preserves a retractable second toe claw) that they are true birds (see below). Evidence from dromaeosaur skin impressions (in animals such as Microraptor, Cryptovolans and Sinornithosaurus) shows modern pennaceous feathers and fully formed remiges or 'flight feathers', leading to the question of whether these animals were capable of active flight. Modern feathers are a primitive trait of the maniraptora and primitive dromaeosaurids and dromaeosaur relatives (like Jinfengopteryx, Pedopenna and Archaeopteryx) show evidence of feathers. While it is extremely likely that all small dromaeosaurs had feathers, it is possible that the larger forms lost some or all of their insulatory covering (Prum & Brush, 2002). Sinornithosaurus by Jim Robins Feathered dinosaurs are regarded by many paleontologists as transitional fossils between birds and dinosaurs (see Dinosaur-bird connection). ... Families See text Theropods (beast foot) are a group of bipedal, primarily carnivorous dinosaurs, belonging to the saurischian (lizard-hip) family. ... This cladogram shows the relationship among various insect groups. ... For other meanings of bird, see bird (disambiguation). ... For other meanings of bird, see bird (disambiguation). ... The Wyoming Dinosaur Center is located in Thermopolis, WY, and is one of the few dinosaur museums in the world to have its own excavation localities within driving distance of its laboratory and curation facility. ... Binomial name Archaeopteryx lithographica Meyer, 1861 Synonyms see text Archaeopteryx (from Ancient Greek αρχαιος archaios meaning ancient and πτερυξ pteryx meaning feather or wing;[1] pronounced ), from the late Jurassic Period (Kimmeridgian stage, 155-150 million years ago) of what is now Germany, is the earliest and most primitive known avian. ... Microraptor was a small, bird-like dinosaur related to the dromaeosaurs. ... Cryptovolans pauli is a 90 cm long feathered dromaeosaurid dinosaur recently discovered in the Jiufotang site, China. ... Species (type) Sinornithosaurus (derived from a combination of Latin and Greek, meaning Chinese lizard-bird) is a feathered dromaeosaurid dinosaur genus from the Lower Cretaceous Period (Middle Barremian) of the Yixian Formation in what is now China. ... Two feathers Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds. ... Remiges are a birds flight feathers which are attached to the rear portion of the wing bones. ... 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. ... Binomial name Jinfengopteryx elegans Ji et. ... Pedopenna daohugouensis (Xu & Zhang 2005) was a small eumaniraptoran dinosaur from the Late Jurassic from the Daohugou beds in China. ... Binomial name Archaeopteryx lithographica Meyer, 1861 Synonyms see text Archaeopteryx (from Ancient Greek αρχαιος archaios meaning ancient and πτερυξ pteryx meaning feather or wing;[1] pronounced ), from the late Jurassic Period (Kimmeridgian stage, 155-150 million years ago) of what is now Germany, is the earliest and most primitive known avian. ...

Flightless birds?

While dromaeosaurids have traditionally been considered non-avian dinosaurs, some researchers (such as Feduccia, Martin, Paul, and Czerkas) consider dromaeosaurids and other maniraptorans to be more derived than the first bird, Archaeopteryx and therefore members of the clade/class Aves. While few published cladistic studies support this hypothesis (instead favoring a position as the closest relatives of Aves but not true members of that group), these researchers point to a number of skeletal features present in dromaeosaurs that are usually found only in flightless birds. The presence of advanced wing feathers, the possibility of flight in the most primitive dromaeosaurs (microraptorians and Rahonavis) (Czerkas, 2002) and the shoulder joints adapted for flapping in many species (such as Unenlagia) also lend support to the idea that dromaeosaurs were true birds (Paul, 2002). Gregory S. Paul (born 1954) is a freelance paleontologist, author and illustrator. ... 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. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Binomial name Archaeopteryx lithographica Meyer, 1861 Synonyms see text Archaeopteryx (from Ancient Greek αρχαιος archaios meaning ancient and πτερυξ pteryx meaning feather or wing;[1] pronounced ), from the late Jurassic Period (Kimmeridgian stage, 155-150 million years ago) of what is now Germany, is the earliest and most primitive known avian. ... Rahonavis, from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar, is the subject of some controversy as to its proper taxonomic position--whether it is a member of the crown clade Aves or a closely related dromaeosaur. ... Species (type) Calvo, Porfiri & Kellner, 2004 Unenlagia (meaning half-bird) was a genus of theropod dinosaur of the family Dromaeosauridae. ...

Mayr & Peters (2006) also consider it extremely likely that dromaeosaurs were secondarily flightless (like modern ostriches), having evolved from flying or gliding ancestors, citing the dromaeosaurid characteristics of Archaeopteryx, especially in the Thermopolis specimen. This specimen, described by Mayr, Pohl, and Peters in 2005, displays skeletal features of Archaeopteryx previously known only in dromaeosaurs and troodontids. Further, Mayr and Peters cite the presence of well-developed wings in primitive dromaeosaurs like Microraptor as evidence that the entire group containing deinonychosaurs, Archaeopteryx, and modern birds, originated from a common flying ancestor. Binomial name Struthio camelus Linnaeus, 1758 The present-day distribution of ostriches. ... Binomial name Archaeopteryx lithographica Meyer, 1861 Synonyms see text Archaeopteryx (from Ancient Greek αρχαιος archaios meaning ancient and πτερυξ pteryx meaning feather or wing;[1] pronounced ), from the late Jurassic Period (Kimmeridgian stage, 155-150 million years ago) of what is now Germany, is the earliest and most primitive known avian. ... Genera See text. ...

Taxonomy

The family Dromaeosauridae was first erected by Matthew and Brown (1922) for the new genus Dromaeosaurus and was given a cladistic definition by Sereno (1998). Sereno defined it as the most inclusive clade containing Dromaeosaurus but not Troodon, Ornithomimus or Passer. Dromaeosauridae, along with Troodontidae, is a subgroup of Deinonychosauria. However, occasionally troodontids are considered more derived or more basal than dromaeosaurids, rendering Deinonychosauria redundant. Species (type species) Dromaeosaurus (drom-ee-oh-SAWR-us) meaning running lizard (Greek dromaios = swift-runner + sauros = lizard) is a wolf-sized theropod dinosaur genus from the Upper Cretaceous (Upper Campanian) of Alberta, Canada. ... It has been suggested that Clade be merged into this article or section. ... Binomial name Troodon formosus Leidy, 1856 Troodon formosus was a relatively small, bird-like dinosaur from the late Cretaceous Period (68–65 MYA). ... Ornithomimus (bird mimic) is a genus of dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of North America. ... Species Many, see text Passer is a genus of Old World sparrows. ... Genera See text. ... Families Dromaeosauridae Troodontidae The Deinonychosauria were a successful clade of theropods in the Cretaceous period. ...

The subfamilies of Dromaeosauridae frequently shift in content based on new analysis but typically consist of the following groups. Classification of the various genera of dromaeosaurids is based on Sereno (2005), Senter (2004), Makovicky (2005), and Norell et al. (2006). Subfamilies listed from most basal (or primitive) to most derived (or advanced). In phylogenetics, basal members of a group are subgroups that diverged very early from the others. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...

• Unenlagiinae
  • Authority: Bonaparte, 1999
  • Definition: All dromaeosaurs closer to Unenlagia than to Dromaeosaurus, Velociraptor, Microraptor or Passer.
  • Description: This enigmatic group is the most poorly-supported subfamily of dromaeosaurs and it is possible that some or all of its members belong outside of Dromaeosauridae. The larger, ground-dwelling members like Buitreraptor and Unenlagia show strong flight adaptations, although they were probably too large to 'take off'. One possible member of this group, Rahonavis, is very small, with well-developed wings that show evidence of quill knobs (the attachment points for flight feathers) and it is very likely that it could fly.
  • Genera: Buitreraptor, Neuquenraptor, Rahonavis, Unenlagia

• Microraptorinae (or Microraptoria)
  • Authority: Senter et al., 2004
  • Definition: All dromaeosaurs closer to Microraptor than to Dromaeosaurus, Velociraptor, Unenlagia or Passer.
  • Description: This subfamily includes many of the smallest dromaeosaurs, which show adaptations for living in trees. All known dromaeosaur skin impressions hail from this group and all show an extensive covering of feathers and well-developed wings. Some species may have been capable of active flight.
  • Genera: ?Bambiraptor, Cryptovolans, Graciliraptor, Microraptor, Sinornithosaurus

• Velociraptorinae
  • Authority: Barsbold, 1983
  • Definition: All dromaeosaurs closer to Velociraptor than to Dromaeosaurus, Microraptor, Unenlagia or Passer.
  • Description: Velociraptorinae has traditionally included Velociraptor, Deinonychus, and Saurornitholestes, and while the discovery of Tsaagan lent support to the this grouping, the inclusion of Saurornitholestes is still uncertain.
  • Genera: ?Saurornitholestes, Deinonychus, Tsaagan, Velociraptor

• Dromaeosaurinae
  • Authority: Matthew & Brown, 1922
  • Definition: All dromaeosaurs closer to Dromaeosaurus than to Velociraptor, Microraptor, Unenlagia or Passer.
  • Description: This subfamily is usually found to consist of medium to giant-sized species, with generally box-shaped skulls (the other subfamilies generally have narrower snouts).
  • Genera: Achillobator, Adasaurus, Atrociraptor, Dromaeosaurus, Dromaeosauroides, Pyroraptor, Utahraptor, Variraptor

Note: Some authors and cladistic studies, especially those that include the small flying species of dromaeosaurid, find the first bird Archaeopteryx to be an early member of Dromaeosauridae. If this is the case, since its family was named before the family Dromaeosauridae, ICZN rules state that its family name has priority. Therefore, when Archaeopteryx is included, the name "Dromaeosauridae" becomes invalid in favor of the name Archaeopterygidae. Paul (1986) was among the first to name dinosaurs such as Deinonychus and Velociraptor as archaeopterygids, rather than dromaeosaurids. Binomial name Buitreraptor gonzalezorum Makovicky, Apesteguía & Agnolin, 2005 Buitreraptor was a rooster-size predatory dinosaur belonging to the dromaeosaurid family. ... Species N. argentinus Novas & Pol, 2005 Neuquenraptor argentinus is the first dromaeosaurid found from the southern hemisphere. ... Rahonavis, from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar, is the subject of some controversy as to its proper taxonomic position--whether it is a member of the crown clade Aves or a closely related dromaeosaur. ... Species (type) Calvo, Porfiri & Kellner, 2004 Unenlagia (meaning half-bird) was a genus of theropod dinosaur of the family Dromaeosauridae. ... Binomial name Bambiraptor feinbergi Burnham , 2000 Bambiraptor is a 75 million year old bird-like dinosaur discovered by scientists at the University of Kansas, Yale University, and the University of New Orleans. ... Cryptovolans pauli is a 90 cm long feathered dromaeosaurid dinosaur recently discovered in the Jiufotang site, China. ... Binomial name Graciliraptor lujiatunensis Xu & Wang, 2004 Graciliraptor is the name given to a genus of dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous. ... Microraptor was a small, bird-like dinosaur related to the dromaeosaurs. ... Species (type) Sinornithosaurus (derived from a combination of Latin and Greek, meaning Chinese lizard-bird) is a feathered dromaeosaurid dinosaur genus from the Lower Cretaceous Period (Middle Barremian) of the Yixian Formation in what is now China. ... Rinchen Barsbold is a Mongolian paleontologist and geologist. ... Saurornitholestes langstoni is a coyote-sized carnivorous dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of North America. ... Binomial name Deinonychus antirrhopus Ostrom, 1969 Deinonychus (IPA ) meaning terrible claw (Greek δεινος meaning terrible and ονυξ/ονυχος meaning claw) was a jaguar-sized, carnivorous dromaeosaurid dinosaur species from the Early Cretaceous Period. ... Binomial name Tsaagan mangas Norell , 2006 Tsaagan (white) is a genus of dromaeosaurid dinosaur from the Djadokhta Formation of late Cretaceous Mongolia. ... Binomial name Velociraptor mongoliensis Osborn, 1924 Velociraptor (IPA: RP , GA ; meaning swift thief) is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur that existed approximately 83 to 70 million years ago during the later part of the Cretaceous Period. ... Binomial name Achillobator giganticus , Achillobator giganticus was a carnivorous dinosaur. ... Binomial name Amphicoelias fragillimus Richen Barsbold, 1983 Adasaurus (Ada Lizard) was a bird-like carnivorous dinosaur that lived 70 million years ago, during the late Cretaceous Period. ... Binomial name Atrociraptor marshalli Currie and Varricchio, 2004 Atrociraptor marshalli (Marshalls cruel thief) is a dromaeosaurid dinosaur species from the Upper Cretaceous (Upper Maastrichtian) of Alberta, Canada. ... Species (type species) Dromaeosaurus (drom-ee-oh-SAWR-us) meaning running lizard (Greek dromaios = swift-runner + sauros = lizard) is a wolf-sized theropod dinosaur genus from the Upper Cretaceous (Upper Campanian) of Alberta, Canada. ... Binomial name Dromaeosauroides bornholmensis Christiansen & Bonde, 2003 Dromaeosauroides is the name given to a genus of dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous. ... Binomial name Pyroraptor olympius Allain & Taquet, 2000 Pyroraptor (fire thief) was a small, bird like dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous (76-74 million years ago). ... Binomial name Utahraptor ostrommaysorum Kirkland, Gaston & Burge, 1993 Utahraptor (Utah thief) is the largest known member of the theropod dinosaur family Dromaeosauridae, and dates from the upper Barremian stage of the Lower Cretaceous period (126 million years ago). ... Variraptor (VAHR-i-RAP-tor - (Latin) Varus for a name of a river + (Latin) raptor meaning thief) named after the Var River and the Var Department in the Provence region of southern France, to indicate a maniraptoran theropod found in the Gres a Reptiles Formation at La Bastide Neuve, near... Binomial name Archaeopteryx lithographica Meyer, 1861 Synonyms see text Archaeopteryx (from Ancient Greek αρχαιος archaios meaning ancient and πτερυξ pteryx meaning feather or wing;[1] pronounced ), from the late Jurassic Period (Kimmeridgian stage, 155-150 million years ago) of what is now Germany, is the earliest and most primitive known avian. ... The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is a set of rules in zoology that have one fundamental aim: to provide the maximum universality and continuity in classifying all animals according to taxonomic judgment. ...

Phylogeny

Cladogram after Norell et al., 2006. Greek clados = branch) or phylogenetic systematics is a branch of biology that determines the evolutionary relationships of living things based on derived similarities. ...

References

• Czerkas, S.A., Zhang, D., Li, J., and Li, Y. (2002). "Flying Dromaeosaurs", in Czerkas, S.J.: Feathered Dinosaurs and the Origin of Flight: The Dinosaur Museum Journal 1. Blanding: The Dinosaur Museum, 16-26. 
• Colbert, E. and D. A. Russell (1969). "The small Cretaceous dinosaur Dromaeosaurus". American Museum Novitates 2380: 1–49. 
• Hopson, J. A. (1980). "Relative brain size in dinosaurs: implications for dinosaurian endothermy". American Association for the Advancement of Science Symposium 28: 287–310. 
• Phillip L. Manning, David Payne, John Pennicott, Paul M. Barrett, Roland A. Ennos (11 October 2005). "Dinosaur killer claws or climbing crampons?". Biology Letters 2: 110-112. DOI:10.1098/rsbl.2005.0395. 
• Qiang Ji, Mark A. Norell, Ke-Qin Gao, Shu-An Ji and Dong Ren (26 April 2001). "Distribution of integumentary structures in a feathered dinosaur". Nature 410: 1084–1088. DOI:10.1038/35074079. 
• Kirkland, J. I., R. Gaston, et al. (1993). "A large dromaeosaur (Theropoda) from the Lower Cretaceous of Eastern Utah". Hunteria 2: 1–16. 
• Makovicky, Apesteguía and Agnolín (2005). "The earliest dromaeosaurid theropod from South America". Nature 437: 1007-1011. 
• Mayr, G., B. Pohl & D.S. Peters (2005). "A well-preserved Archaeopteryx specimen with theropod features". Science 310 (5753): 1483-1486. DOI:10.1126/science.1120331. 
• Mayr, G., and Peters, D.S. (2006). "Response to Comment on 'A Well-Preserved Archaeopteryx Specimen with Theropod Features'." Science, 313: 1238.
• Metcalf SJ, Vaughan RF, Benton MJ, Cole J, Simms MJ & Dartnall DL (1992). "A new Bathonian (Middle Jurassic) microvertebrate site, within the Chipping Norton Limestone Formation at Hornsleaslow Quarry, Gloucestershire". Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association 103: 321–342. 
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There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... First title page, November 4, 1869 Nature is one of the oldest and most reputable scientific journals, first published on 4 November 1869. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... James Ian Kirkland (1954 to the present) is an American paleontologist and geologist. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... John Ostrom John H. Ostrom (February 18, 1928 – July 16, 2005) was an American paleontologist who revolutionized modern understanding of dinosaurs in the 1960s, when he demonstrated that dinosaurs are more like big non-flying birds than they are like lizards (or saurians), an idea first proposed by Thomas Henry... September 16 is the 259th day of the year (260th in leap years). ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... First title page, November 4, 1869 Nature is one of the oldest and most reputable scientific journals, first published on 4 November 1869. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ...

External links

• See entry on "Dromaeosauridae" at DinoData (registration required, free).
• The Dromaeosauridae: The Raptors!, from the University of California Berkeley Museum of Paleontology.
• Dromaeosauridae, by Justin Tweet from Thescelosaurus.