Theropoda

E73995

Theropoda is a major group of mostly bipedal, primarily carnivorous dinosaurs that includes famous species like Tyrannosaurus rex and the ancestors of modern birds.

All labels observed (5)

Label Occurrences
Theropoda canonical 47
Carnosauria 1
Coelurosauria 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (59)

Predicate Object
instanceOf dinosaur clade
taxonomic suborder
ancestralTo modern birds
characteristicFeature furcula (wishbone) in many taxa
hollow bones
large grasping forelimbs in many forms
pneumatized skeleton in many taxa
s-shaped neck
sharp recurved teeth in most taxa
three-toed limbs
cladeDefinition all descendants of the most recent common ancestor of modern birds and theropods like Allosaurus and Ceratosaurus
containsExtantTaxa birds
etymology Greek for "beast-footed"
firstAppearance Late Triassic
firstAppearanceApproximateAge about 230 million years ago
fossilRecord found on every continent
geographicDistribution global
includes Allosaurus
Averostra
Aves
Carnosauria
Carnotaurus
Ceratosauria
Ceratosaurus
Coelophysis
Avetheropoda
surface form: Coelurosauria

Compsognathus
Dromaeosauridae
surface form: Deinonychus

Dilophosaurus
Dromaeosauridae
Giganotosaurus
Herrerasauria
Maniraptora
Megalosaurus
Neotheropoda
Spinosaurus
Tetanurae
Troodon
Tyrannosaurus
surface form: Tyrannosaurus rex

Velociraptor
includesFeatheredTaxa yes
majorExtinctionEvent Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary
surface form: Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event
namedBy Othniel Charles Marsh
notableMorphology generally large head relative to body in many taxa
often reduced forelimbs in some large carnivores such as tyrannosaurids
parentTaxon Dinosauria
Saurischia
relatedTo Ornithischia
Saurischia
surface form: Sauropodomorpha
researchField paleontology
subdivision avian theropods
non-avian theropods
survivingLineageAfterKPg avian theropods
taxonRank suborder
temporalRange Late Triassic–Present
typicalDiet carnivorous
typicalLocomotion bipedal
typicalReproduction oviparous
yearDescribed 1881

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (51)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Lythronax suborder Theropoda