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Dromaeosauridae
Dromaeosauridae () is a family of feathered theropod dinosaurs. They were generally small to medium-sized feathered carnivores that flourished in the Cretaceous Period. The name Dromaeosauridae means 'running lizards', from Greek ('), meaning 'runner', and ('), meaning 'lizard'. In informal usage, they are often called raptors (after ''Velociraptor''), a term popularized by the film '' Jurassic Park''; a few types include the term "raptor" directly in their name and have come to emphasize their bird-like appearance and speculated bird-like behavior. Dromaeosaurid fossils have been found across the globe in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, South America and Antarctica, with some fossils giving credence to the possibility that they inhabited Australia as well. They first appeared in the mid-Jurassic Period (late Bathonian stage, about 167 million years ago) and survived until the end of the Cretaceous (Maastrichtian stage, 66 ma), existing until the Cretaceous–Paleogene ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deinonychus
''Deinonychus'' ( ; ) is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur with one described species, ''Deinonychus antirrhopus''. This species, which could grow up to long, lived during the early Cretaceous Period, about 115–108 million years ago (from the mid-Aptian to early Albian stages). Fossils have been recovered from the U.S. states of Montana, Utah, Wyoming, and Oklahoma, in rocks of the Cloverly Formation, Cedar Mountain Formation and Antlers Formation, though teeth that may belong to ''Deinonychus'' have been found much farther east in Maryland. Paleontologist John Ostrom's study of ''Deinonychus'' in the late 1960s revolutionized the way scientists thought about dinosaurs, leading to the " dinosaur renaissance" and igniting the debate on whether dinosaurs were warm-blooded or cold-blooded. Before this, the popular conception of dinosaurs had been one of plodding, reptilian giants. Ostrom noted the small body, sleek, horizontal posture, ratite-like spine, and esp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pyroraptor
''Pyroraptor'' (meaning "fire thief") is an extinct genus of paravian dinosaur, probably a dromaeosaurid or unenlagiid (considering that unenlagiids are a separate family), from the Late Cretaceous Ibero-Armorican island, of what is now southern France and northern Spain. It lived during the late Campanian and early Maastrichtian stages, approximately 70.6 million years ago. It is known from a single partial specimen that was found in Provence in 1992, after a forest fire. The animal was named ''Pyroraptor olympius'' by Allain and Taquet in 2000. Discovery and naming Naming and Material The first remains of ''Pyroraptor olympius'', or P. olympius, were discovered in southeastern France, at the La Boucharde locality of the Arc Basin in Provence. It was described and named by French paleontologists Ronan Allain and Philippe Taquet in 2000, the type species and so far the only species is ''Pyroraptor olympius''. The genus name is Greek for "Fire thief", due to its remains ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Microraptor
''Microraptor'' (Greek, μικρός, ''mīkros'': "small"; Latin, ''raptor'': "one who seizes") is a genus of small, four-winged dromaeosaurid dinosaurs. Numerous well-preserved fossil specimens have been recovered from Liaoning, China. They date from the early Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation (Aptian stage), 125 to 120 million years ago. Three species have been named (''M. zhaoianus'', ''M. gui'', and ''M. hanqingi''), though further study has suggested that all of them represent variation in a single species, which is properly called ''M. zhaoianus''. ''Cryptovolans'', initially described as another four-winged dinosaur, is usually considered to be a synonym of ''Microraptor''. Like ''Archaeopteryx'', well-preserved fossils of ''Microraptor'' provide important evidence about the evolutionary relationship between birds and earlier dinosaurs. ''Microraptor'' had long pennaceous feathers that formed aerodynamic surfaces on the arms and tail but also on the legs. This led paleon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Microraptoria
Microraptoria (Greek, μίκρος, ''mīkros'': "small"; Latin, ''raptor'': "one who seizes") is a clade of basal dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaurs. The first microraptorians appeared 125 million years ago in China. Many are known for long feathers on their legs and may have been semiarboreal powered fliers, some of which were even capable of launching from the ground.. Most microraptorians were relatively small; adult specimens of ''Microraptor'' range between ) and weigh up to , making them some of the smallest known nonavialan dinosaurs.Holtz, Thomas R. Jr. (2011) ''Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages,'Winter 2010 Appendix./ref> Description Microraptorians were a group of basal dromaeosaurids (popularly known as "raptors") with slender proportions and long limbs. With the exception of ''Hesperonychus'' from the late Cretaceous of North America, all microraptorians have been found in the Yixian and Jifuotang Formations of Liao ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Unenlagiidae
Unenlagiidae is a proposed family of eumaniraptoran paravians that includes the subfamilies Unenlagiinae and possibly Halszkaraptorinae. Fossils of both subfamilies have been found in both Gondwanan and Laurasian deposits. The biology of the group suggests that some members were semiaquatic specialists. Classification The family Unenlagiidae traditionally includes the same members as the previously named subfamily of Dromaeosauridae, Unenlagiinae, so Unenlagiidae was often seen as a synonym of Dromaeosauridae. However, since the 2010s, there have been subsequent studies that have questioned this placement, necessitating the revival of the family name. Some have placed unenlagiids as outside Dromaeosauridae, being the sister taxon or closely related to Avialae, while others have placed the newly recognized halszkaraptorines in the family, as basal deinonychosaurs outside Dromaeosauridae and Troodontidae Troodontidae is a clade of bird-like theropod dinosaurs. During most o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Velociraptor
''Velociraptor'' (; ) is a genus of small dromaeosaurid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous epoch, about 75 million to 71 million years ago. Two species are currently recognized, although others have been assigned in the past. The type species is ''V. mongoliensis''; fossils of this species have been discovered in the Djadochta Formation, Mongolia. A second species, ''V. osmolskae'', was named in 2008 for skull material from the Bayan Mandahu Formation, China. Smaller than other dromaeosaurids like ''Deinonychus'' and ''Achillobator'', ''Velociraptor'' was about long with a body mass between . It nevertheless shared many of the same anatomical features. It was a bipedal, feathered carnivore with a long tail and an enlarged sickle-shaped claw on each hindfoot, which is thought to have been used to tackle and restrain prey. ''Velociraptor'' can be distinguished from other dromaeosaurids by its long and low skull, with an upturned snout. ''Velociraptor'' (com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eudromaeosauria
Eudromaeosauria ("true dromaeosaurs") is a subgroup of terrestrial dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaurs. They were relatively small to medium-sized, feathered hypercarnivores (with diets consisting almost entirely of other terrestrial vertebrates) that flourished in the Cretaceous Period. Eudromaeosaur fossils are known almost exclusively from the northern hemisphere. They first appeared in the early Cretaceous Period (early Aptian stage, about 124 million years ago) and survived until the end of the Cretaceous (Maastrichtian stage, Ma). The earliest known definitive eudromaeosaur is the dromaeosaurine '' Utahraptor ostrommaysi'', from the Cedar Mountain Formation, dated to 124 million years ago. However, the earlier (143-million-year-old) fossils such as those of '' Nuthetes destructor'' and several indeterminate teeth dating to the Kimmeridgian stage may represent eudromaeosaurs. Description While other dromaeosaurids filled a variety of specialized ecological niches, mainly tho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buitreraptor
''Buitreraptor'' (meaning "La Buitrera seizer") is a genus of dromaeosaurid dinosaurs that lived during the Late Cretaceous of Argentina at the Candeleros Formation. ''Buitreraptor'' was described in 2005 and the type species is ''Buitreraptor gonzalezorum''. It was rooster-sized and had a very elongated head with many small teeth. History of discovery Four specimens of ''Buitreraptor'' were found in 2004 in sandstone in Patagonia, Argentina during an excavation led by Sebastián Apesteguia, researcher of CONICET at the Fundacion Felix de Azara - Maimonides University, and Peter Makovicky, curator of dinosaurs at the Field Museum in Chicago. ''Buitreraptor'' is from the early Late Cretaceous Candeleros Formation, dating to the Cenomanian-Turonian ages approximately 98 to 97 million years ago, when South America was an isolated continent like Australia today. It was uncovered in a famous fossil site named ''La Buitrera'', the "vulture roost". Although dinosaurs are rare in thi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Variraptor
''Variraptor'' ( ; "Var thief") is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of France. Discovery Between 1992 and 1995 amateur paleontologists Patrick Méchin and Annie Méchin-Salessy uncovered the remains of a small theropod in the Grès à Reptiles Formation (Campanian-Maastrichtian) at La Bastide Neuve, near Fox-Amphoux. The first finds were in 1992 assigned to the dubious theropod genus ''Elopteryx''. A second article, in 1997, concluded they represented a new species. In 1998 this was named by Jean Le Loeuff and Eric Buffetaut as the type species ''Variraptor mechinorum''. The generic name is derived from Latin ''Varus'', referring to the Var River in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence region of southern France, and ''raptor'' meaning "thief". The specific name honours the Méchin couple. The genus is based on three type specimens: a posterior dorsal vertebra (MDE-D168), a sacrum (MDE-D169) with five fused vertebrae, and an ilium ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dromaeosaurus Albertensis
''Dromaeosaurus'' (, "running lizard") is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur which lived during the Late Cretaceous period (middle late Campanian and Maastrichtian), sometime between 80 and 69 million years ago, in Alberta, Canada and the western United States. The type species is ''Dromaeosaurus albertensis'', which was described by William Diller Matthew and Barnum Brown in 1922. Its fossils were unearthed in the Dinosaur Park Formation. Teeth attributed to this genus have been found in the Prince Creek Formation. ''Dromaeosaurus'' is the type genus of both Dromaeosauridae and Dromaeosaurinae, which include many genera with similar characteristics to ''Dromaeosaurus'' such as possibly its closest relative ''Dakotaraptor''. ''Dromaeosaurus'' was heavily built, more so than other dromaeosaurs that are similar in size, like ''Velociraptor''. Discovery and naming Despite receiving widespread attention in popular books on dinosaurs, and the usage of a complete mounted skelet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is the subject of active research. They became the dominant terrestrial vertebrates after the Triassic–Jurassic extinction event 201.3 mya; their dominance continued throughout the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. The fossil record shows that birds are feathered dinosaurs, having evolved from earlier theropods during the Late Jurassic epoch, and are the only dinosaur lineage known to have survived the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event approximately 66 mya. Dinosaurs can therefore be divided into avian dinosaurs—birds—and the extinct non-avian dinosaurs, which are all dinosaurs other than birds. Dinosaurs are varied from taxonomic, morphological and ecological standpoints. Birds, at over 10,700 living species, are among ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ornithodesmus
''Ornithodesmus'' (meaning "bird link") is a genus of small, dromaeosaurid dinosaur from the Isle of Wight in England, dating to about 125 million years ago. The name was originally assigned to a bird-like sacrum (a series of vertebrae fused to the hip bones), initially believed to come from a bird and subsequently identified as a pterosaur. More complete pterosaur remains were later assigned to ''Ornithodesmus'', until recently a detailed analysis determined that the original specimen in fact came from a small theropod, specifically a Dromaeosauridae, dromaeosaur. All pterosaurian material previously assigned to this genus has been renamed ''Istiodactylus''. Description As it is only known from isolated vertebrae, little is known about the appearance of ''Ornithodesmus''. The neural spines of the vertebrae are fused and form a blade over the 9.6 centimetres long sacrum, which is slightly arched. The bases of the neural spines form a lateral platform, and the first two vertebra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
