Saurornitholestinae is a subfamily of the
theropod
Theropoda (; ), whose members are known as theropods, is a dinosaur clade that is characterized by hollow bones and three toes and claws on each limb. Theropods are generally classed as a group of saurischian dinosaurs. They were ancestrally c ...
group
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 ...
. The saurornitholestines currently include three monotypic genera: ''
Atrociraptor marshalli
''Atrociraptor'' (meaning "savage thief") is a genus of saurornitholestine dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian stage) of Alberta, Canada.
The type (and only) specimen of ''Atrociraptor'', holotype RTMP 95.1 ...
'', ''
Bambiraptor feinbergi
''Bambiraptor'' is a Late Cretaceous, 72-million-year-old, bird-like dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur described by scientists at the University of Kansas, Yale University, and the University of New Orleans.
The holotype fossil is less than one m ...
'', and ''
Saurornitholestes langstoni
''Saurornitholestes'' ("lizard-bird thief") is a genus of carnivorous dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur from the late Cretaceous of Canada (Alberta) and the United States (Montana, New Mexico, Alabama, North Carolina, and South Carolina).
Two spec ...
''. All are medium-sized dromaeosaurs from the Late Cretaceous of western North America. The group was originally recognized by Longrich and
Currie
Currie ( gd, Currach, IPA: kʰuːᵲəx is a village and suburb on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland, situated south west of the city centre. Formerly within the County of Midlothian, it now falls within the jurisdiction of the City of Edi ...
as the sister taxon to a clade formed by the
Dromaeosaurinae
Dromaeosaurinae is a subfamily of the theropod group Dromaeosauridae. The earliest dromaeosaurine is ''Utahraptor'', dating back to the Early Cretaceous period in North America, however, some isolated teeth seems to represent an indeterminate spe ...
and
Velociraptorinae
Velociraptorinae is a subfamily of the theropod group Dromaeosauridae. The earliest velociraptorines are probably ''Nuthetes'' from the United Kingdom, and possibly ''Deinonychus'' from North America. However, several indeterminate velociraptorin ...
. However, not all phylogenetic analyses recover this group and/or with the same proposed genera.
Classification
Below are the results for the
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) ...
phylogeny
A phylogenetic tree (also phylogeny or evolutionary tree Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA.) is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological spec ...
based on the
phylogenetic analysis
In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...
conducted by Jasinski and colleagues in
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
during the description of ''
Dineobellator
''Dineobellator'' (meaning Diné warrior, pronounced ) is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Cretaceous period 68 million years ago. The remains have been found in the Maastrichtian stage of the ...
''. The group was recovered, but this time with the exclusion of ''
Bambiraptor
''Bambiraptor'' is a Late Cretaceous, 72-million-year-old, bird-like dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur described by scientists at the University of Kansas, Yale University, and the University of New Orleans.
The holotype fossil is less than one m ...
'':
See also
*
Timeline of dromaeosaurid research
This timeline of dromaeosaurid research is a chronological listing of events in the history of paleontology focused on the dromaeosaurids, a group of sickle-clawed, bird-like theropod dinosaurs including animals like ''Velociraptor''. Since the ...
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2061904
Eudromaeosaurs
Fossil taxa described in 2009