Maniraptorans | |
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Collage of six maniraptorans. From top left to right: the Zamyn Khondt oviraptorid, Sinornithosaurus, the Prince Creek troodontid, Patagonykus, a short-tailed albatross, and Nothronychus | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Dinosauria |
Clade: | Saurischia |
Clade: | Theropoda |
Clade: | Maniraptoriformes |
Clade: | Maniraptora Gauthier, 1986 |
Subgroups | |
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Synonyms | |
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Maniraptora is a clade of coelurosaurian dinosaurs which includes the birds and the non-avian dinosaurs that were more closely related to them than to Ornithomimus velox. It contains the major subgroups Avialae, Dromaeosauridae, Troodontidae, Oviraptorosauria, and Therizinosauria. Ornitholestes and the Alvarezsauroidea are also often included. Together with the next closest sister group, the Ornithomimosauria, Maniraptora comprises the more inclusive clade Maniraptoriformes. Maniraptorans first appear in the fossil record during the Jurassic Period (see Eshanosaurus), and survive today as living birds.