Coelurosauria

Coelurosaurians Temporal range: Middle Jurassic–Present, 165–0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Possible Early Jurassic record
A collection of coelurosaurian fossil skeletons: (Clockwise from upper left) GIN 100/42 which may represent Citipati or a different oviraptorosaur, Sinosauropteryx prima(a feathered compsognathid, Nothronychus mckinleyi(a therizinosaur), Tyrannosaurus rex(a large carnivorous tyrannosaur), Bambiraptor feinbergi(a small dromaeosaurid), Passer domesticus, Struthiomimus altus(an ornithomimid), Microraptor gui(a winged dromaeosaurid).
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Clade:	Dinosauria
Clade:	Saurischia
Clade:	Theropoda
Clade:	Avetheropoda
Clade:	Coelurosauria von Huene, 1914
Subgroups[1]
†Aniksosaurus[1] †Bagaraatan[1] †Bicentenaria †Lourinhanosaurus?[2] †Phaedrolosaurus[1] †Richardoestesia[1] †Sciurumimus?[3] †Teinurosaurus[1] †Tugulusaurus †Xinjiangovenator[1] †Zuolong? †Megaraptora? Tyrannoraptora Sereno, 1999 †Aorun †Compsognathidae (possibly polyphyletic) †Tanycolagreus †Tyrannosauroidea Maniraptoromorpha Cau, 2018[4] †Coelurus? †Ornitholestes Maniraptoriformes

Coelurosauria is the clade containing all theropod dinosaurs more closely related to birds than to carnosaurs.

This is a varied group that includes tyrannosaurs, ornithomimosaurs, compsognathids and maniraptors; Maniraptora includes birds, the only descendents of coelurosaurs alive today.

All Paraves discovered so far have been coelurosaurs. It is probable that all coelurosaurs were feathered.^[5]

Some diagnostic characteristics of coelurosaurs include elongated arms and well-developed hinge-like ankles (possible rotation of the ankle is reduced, which is helpful during locomotion). These features may be lost or modified by later coelurosaurs (birds, for example).

An increase in the proportion of the brain occupied by the cerebrum seems to have occurred in the Coelurosauria and "continued throughout the evolution of maniraptorans and early birds".^[6]

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6} Holtz, Thomas R. Jr. (2012) Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages, Winter 2011 Appendix.
2. ↑ Carrano, M.T.; Benson, R.B.J.; Sampson, S.D. (2012). "The phylogeny of Tetanurae (Dinosauria: Theropoda)". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 10 (2): 211–300. doi:10.1080/14772019.2011.630927. S2CID 85354215.
3. ↑ Godefroit, Pascal; Cau, Andrea; Hu, Dong-Yu; Escuillié, François; Wu, Wenhao; Dyke, Gareth (2013). "A Jurassic avialan dinosaur from China resolves the early phylogenetic history of birds". Nature. 498 (7454): 359–362. Bibcode:2013Natur.498..359G. doi:10.1038/nature12168. PMID 23719374. S2CID 4364892.
4. ↑ Andrea Cau (2018). "The assembly of the avian body plan: a 160-million-year long process" (PDF). Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana. 57 (1): 1–25. doi:10.4435/BSPI.2018.01 (inactive 2024-11-20). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-12-21. Retrieved 2018-05-16.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
5. ↑ Currie, Philip J. (2005). Dinosaur Provincial Park: a spectacular ancient ecosystem revealed. Indiana University Press. p. 368. ISBN 0253345952.
6. ↑ Larsson H.C.E. 2001. Endocranial anatomy of Carcharodontosaurus saharicus (Theropoda: Allosauroidea) and its implications for theropod brain evolution. pp. 19–33. In: Mesozioc Vertebrate Life. eds Tanke D.H; Carpenter K. & Skrepnick M.W. Indiana University Press, p19.