Caenagnathidae

Caenagnathids
Temporal range: Early-Late Cretaceous, 110–66 Ma
Reconstructed skull of Anzu wyliei
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Theropoda
Superfamily: Caenagnathoidea
Family: Caenagnathidae
Sternberg, 1940
Type species
Caenagnathus collinsi
Sternberg, 1940
Genera
Synonyms

Caenagnathidae is a family of derived caenagnathoid dinosaurs from the Cretaceous of North America and Asia. They are a member of the Oviraptorosauria, and relatives of the Oviraptoridae.[2] Like other oviraptorosaurs, caenagnathids had specialized beaks,[3] long necks,[4] and short tails,[5] and would have been covered in feathers. The relationships of caenagnathids were long a puzzle. The family was originally named by Raymond Martin Sternberg in 1940 [6] as a family of flightless birds. The discovery of skeletons of the related oviraptorids revealed that they were in fact non-avian theropods,[7] and the discovery of more complete caenagnathid remains [4][8] revealed that Chirostenotes pergracilis, originally named on the basis of a pair of hands, and Citipes elegans, originally thought to be an ornithomimid, named from a foot, were caenagnathids as well.

  1. ^ Atkins-Weltman, K. L.; Simon, D. J.; Woodward, H. N.; Funston, G. F.; Snively, E. (2024). "A new oviraptorosaur (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the end-Maastrichtian Hell Creek Formation of North America". PLOS ONE. 19 (1). e0294901. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0294901. PMC 10807829.
  2. ^ Osmólska, H., P. J. Currie, et al. (2004). Oviraptorosauria. The Dinosauria. D. B. Weishampel, P. Dodson and H. Osmolska. Berkeley, University of California Press: 165-183.
  3. ^ Currie, P. J.; Godfrey, S. J.; et al. (1993). "New caenagnathid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) specimens from the Upper Cretaceous of North America and Asia". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 30 (10–11): 2255–2272. Bibcode:1993CaJES..30.2255C. doi:10.1139/e93-196.
  4. ^ a b Sues, H. D. (1997). "On Chirostenotes, a Late Cretaceous oviraptorosaur (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from western North America". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 17 (4): 698–716. Bibcode:1997JVPal..17..698S. doi:10.1080/02724634.1997.10011018.
  5. ^ Barsbold, R.; Osmolska, H.; Watabe, M.; Currie, P. J.; Tsogtbaatar, K. (2000). "New oviraptorosaur (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from Mongolia: The first dinosaur with a pygostyle" (PDF). Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 45 (2): 97–106.
  6. ^ Sternberg, R.M. (1940). "A toothless bird from the Cretaceous of Alberta". Journal of Paleontology. 14 (1): 81–85.
  7. ^ Osmólska, H (1976). "New light on the skull anatomy and systematic position of Oviraptor". Nature. 262 (5570): 683–684. Bibcode:1976Natur.262..683O. doi:10.1038/262683a0. S2CID 4180155.
  8. ^ Currie, P.J.; Russell, D.A. (1988). "Osteology and relationships of Chirostenotes pergracilis (Saurischia, Theropoda) from the Judith River Oldman Formation of Alberta". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 25 (3): 972–986. doi:10.1139/e88-097.