History UsefulNotes / PrehistoricLifeBirdLikeTheropods

Since what was later found of the skull showed only a small relief on the nose, ''Chirostenotes'' was shown almost-crestless in old portraits; but the skull was incomplete, and now is thought it had a large crest similar to that of ''Citipati'': that is, the animal which people usually think of when they think “''Oviraptor''”. Indeed, most alleged “''Oviraptor''” remains have been reclassified into other genera: among these the famous “dinosaur on its nest” found in the 1990s, which also contributed to debunk the classic “egg-robbing specialist” reputation.\\\

* ''[[StockDinosaurs Oviraptor]]'' had many relatives. Most of them have been found since the 1990s in Cretaceous Asia, but one from in North America has also been known since the 1910s: ''Chirostenotes'', to this day still one of the few North-American oviraptorosaurs. Despite this “privileged” position, ''Chirostenotes'' remains a rather obscure dinosaur, and has had a convoluted ScienceMarchesOn-story. Since its first skeleton lacked the skull, was initially classified a “generic toothed coelurosaur”. Its toothless skull was found in 1940, but was named ''Caenagnathus'' and believed to be a bird. In the 1980s, scientists decided that ''Caenagnathus'' and ''Chirostenotes'' were one and the same, and “''Caenagnathus''” fell in disuse, having been created after the other name.\\\
But in recent years, someone has again made these genera distinct. Since the skull showed only a small relief on the nose, ''Chirostenotes'' was shown almost-crestless in old portraits; but the skull was incomplete, and now is thought it had a large crest similar to that of ''Citipati'': that is, the animal which people usually think of when they think “''Oviraptor''”. Indeed, most alleged “''Oviraptor''” remains have been reclassified into other genera: among these the famous “dinosaur on its nest” found in the 1990s, which also contributed to debunk the classic “egg-robbing specialist” reputation.\\\

Like ''Velociraptor'', ''Saurornithoides'' was considered a “generic coelurosaur” until the 1970s, when it and ''Troodon'' (then still called “''Stenonychosaurus''”) were put in their own family, the "saurornithoidids" (now called “troodontids”). Since the 1990s, the troodontid family has acquired several new relatives, usually Cretaceous: some are cited below in the “Liaoning Coelurosaurs” section.\\\
Traditionally, ''Troodon'' and ''Saurornithoides'' have been depicted as cunning nocturnal hunters who used their large, forward-facing eyes (usually shown with cat-like or ''even [[AnimalEyes gecko-like]]'' pupils), as well as their great intelligence to catch small mammals, grasping them with their three-fingered hands weaponed with curved claws and opposable thumbs. More realistically, their eyes were bird-like with round pupils, their hands were not so prehensile, and their great smartness is debatable (see RaptorAttack). Furthermore, according to recent research, at least ''Troodon'' was more probably omnivorous or even ''herbivorous'' (a bit like ornithomimids), because its teeth were tiny and not-so-sharp, resembling those of plant-eating dinos. However, ''Saurornithoides'', having slightly larger head and teeth than ''Troodon'', was more ''Velociraptor''-like than the latter, and maybe it really corresponded to the former portrait of a specialized hunter.\\\

Most ornithomimosaurs, however, have been found in Asia: other than the gigantic ''Gallimimus'' and the [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter even more gigantic]] ''Deinocheirus'' (see the bottom of the page), we can mention ''Archaeornithomimus'' (“ancient ''Ornithomimus''”) and ''Garudimimus'' “[[HinduMythology Garuda]]-mimic”, both archaic yet already toothless animals. But even more basal ornithomimosaurs still retained small teeth: ''Pelecanimimus'' (“pelican mimic”, because its skeleton was discovered with the print of a pelican-like gular pouch) was from Early Cretaceous Spain. Strangely, ornithomimids are one of the few coelurosaurian groups which haven't left any species in the famous Liaoning sites (which have preserved some of the most famous “feathered dinosaur fossils”), so, we don’t know what kind of covering they had. Being more primitive than deinonychosaurs and oviraptorosaurs, a purey down-liker covering seems to be the most likely; but this has yet to appear in Fictionland.

The way-of-life of ''Deinocheirus'' has been even more enigmatic, and still remains misterious to this day. Early reports described it as a gigantic and fearsome predator, but we now know such an image is highly unlikely. ''Deinocheirus'' was either a basal toothed ornithomimosaur or a derived toothless ornithomimid. If the first is true, ''Deinocheirus'' could have been an ''active hunter'', and someone could even imagine titanic battles againts the contemporaneous ''T. rex'' relative ''Tarbosaurus'' or even ''Therizinosaurus'' (see below). But wait: even with sharp-toothed jaws, ''Deinocheirus'' shouldn’t be seen as such a powerful killer. Its jaws and teeth would be much smaller and weaker than tyrannosaurs', carnosaurs', or even spinosaurids'. Furthermore, its claws seem too blunt to be able to rip the tough skin of a hadrosaur or a sauropod. Today, the best guess is that ''Deinocheirus'' was a sort of giant omnivore, which could have eaten from tree-tops using its forelimbs to pull down branches, and at the same time could have scavenged carrion of large herbivores, hunted small dinosaurs that could be swallowed whole, and maybe even chased ''Tarbosaurus'' away from their kills using its “terrible hands” as a scaring device. To resolve the mystery, we dino-fans are still patiently waiting for a complete ''Deinocheirus'' skeleton. Material described in 2012 is a step in the right direction: this shows that it was prey for ''Tarbosaurus''.

The way-of-life of ''Deinocheirus'' has been even more enigmatic, and still remains misterious to this day. Early reports described it as a gigantic and fearsome predator, but we now know such an image is highly unlikely. ''Deinocheirus'' was either a basal toothed ornithomimosaur or a derived toothless ornithomimid. If the first is true, ''Deinocheirus'' could have been an ''active hunter'', and someone could even imagine titanic battles againts the contemporaneous ''T. rex'' relative ''Tarbosaurus'' or even ''Therizinosaurus'' (see below). But wait: even with sharp-toothed jaws, ''Deinocheirus'' shouldn’t be seen as such a powerful killer. Its jaws and teeth would be much smaller and weaker than tyrannosaurs', carnosaurs', or even spinosaurids'. Furthermore, its claws seem too blunt to be able to rip the tough skin of a hadrosaur or a sauropod. Today, the best guess is that ''Deinocheirus'' was a sort of giant omnivore, which could have eaten from tree-tops using its forelimbs to pull down branches, and at the same time could have scavenged carrion of large herbivores, hunted small dinosaurs that could be swallowed whole, and maybe even chased ''Tarbosaurus'' away from their kills using its “terrible hands” as a scaring device. To resolve the mystery, we dino-fans are still patiently waiting for a complete ''Deinocheirus'' skeleton.

''Dromaeosaurus'', ''Velociraptor'', ''Deinonychus'' and ''Utahraptor'', together with some other genera, used to make ''the'' dromaeosaurids before the ''JurassicPark'' times and also few years later (middle 1990s). We now know they actually ''[[ScienceMarchesOn do not match ]]'' [[SmallTaxonomyPools the great variety within their family]]. Especially since the beginning of the 2000s, mny new dromaeosaur species have been discovered, most of them [[SureWhyNot having received the suffix raptor]]. Examples are the North-American ''Bambiraptor'' (so called because its skeleton [[Disney/{{Bambi}} was from a juvenile]]); the European ''Pyroraptor''; and the South American, short-armed ''Austroraptor''. One exception is ''Achillobator'', which lived in Late Cretaceous Mongolia and, with its 6 m long body, was only slightly smaller than ''Utahraptor'' from [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Utah]]. These were all ground-dwelling kinds with a running-plan like the traditionally-intended “raptors”.\\\

The similar-named, similar-sized and similar-looking ''Saurornitholestes'' was not a troodontid but one of the few dromaeosaurids known before ''JurassicPark'' (that's why it has not the suffix -raptor). Its name is a {{Portmanteau}} of ''Saurornithoides'' and ''Ornitholestes''). ''Saurornitholestes'' lived in Late Cretaceous North America together with ''Dromaeosaurus'', and even though has left much more fossil material, it has not received the same level of attention in media.

* Which is the most iconic ornithomimid in pop-consciousness? Well, it depends on age and location. The last-generation dino-fans would respond by saying ''[[JurassicPark Gallimimus]]''; the long-standing ones have a better chance to say ''[[StockDinosaurs Ornithomimus]]''… at least, if they’re from EagleLand. Indeed, in some other countries, this role has always been ruled by a third animal, ''[[RuleOfThree Struthiomimus]]''.\\\

Deadly Embrace: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinocheirus Deinocheirus]]''

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinocheirus Deadly Embrace]]: ''Deinocheirus''

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segnosaurus Converted]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alxasaurus to Veganism]]: ''Segnosaurus'', ''Alxasaurus'', and relatives

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therizinosaurus Wolverine Claws]]: ''Therizinosaurus''

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigantoraptor Gigant-[ic] O-[vi]-raptor]]: ''Gigantoraptor''

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dromaeosaurus The first Raptor Attack]]: ''Dromaeosaurus'' and Post-JurassicPark "raptors"

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saurornithoides Big-brained and gecko-eyed]]: ''Saurornithoides'' and ''Saurornitholestes''

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Struthiomimus Ostrich-mimic]]: ''Struthiomimus'', "Dromiceiomimus", and basal ornithomimosaurs

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chirostenotes Egg thieves,]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citipati or what?]]: ''Chirostenotes'' and ''Citipati''

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avimimus The first known feathered dinosaur]]: ''Avimimus''

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feathered_dinosaurs Birds are dinosaurs]]: Liaoning theropods

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microraptor Four-winged dinosaur]]: ''Microraptor''

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mononykus Dino-anteaters,]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvarezsaurus or what?]]: ''Mononykus'', ''Alvarezsaurus'', and relatives

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dromaeosaurus The first Raptor Attack]]: ''Dromaeosaurus''

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saurornithoides Big-brained and gecko-eyed]]: ''Saurornithoides''

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Struthiomimus Ostrich-mimic]]: ''Struthiomimus''

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mononykus Dino-anteaters,]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvarezsaurus or what?]]: ''Mononykus'' and ''Alvarezsaurus''

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segnosaurus Converted]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alxasaurus to Veganism]]: ''Segnosaurus'' and ''Alxasaurus''

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigantoraptor Gigant-(ic) O-(vi)-raptor]]: ''Gigantoraptor''

Most ornithomimids have bird-related prefixes and the suffix –''mimus'' in their name. ''Ornithomimus'' simply means “bird-mimic”, ''Gallimimus'' “rooster-mimic” (even though it hardly resembles one…). While ''Struthiomimus'' means "ostrich-mimic" - maybe the most apt name, corresponding with the traditional nickname of the group, “Ostrich-mimic dinosaurs”. ''Struthiomimus'' lived in Late Cretaceous North America like ''Ornithomimus'', was the same size, and the two were so similar each other, they were once believed one and the same. However, ''Struthiomimus'' had stronger forelimbs and claws than ''Ornithomimus'', and was definitively recognized distinct in the 1970s. A third ornithomimid was described in the same years in North America, with a name that makes a sort of tongue twister: ''Dromiceiomimus'', “emu-mimic”[[hottip:*:''Dromiceius novaehollandiae'' was the former scientific name of the emu; [[ScienceMarchesOn now it's]] ''Dromaius novaehollandiae'', but its meaning is in both cases “runner of the New Holland” (the old name of Australia)]]. This one was also virtually identical to its neighbors, only with wider eyes and longer legs, and was also cited as the “fastest-running dinosaur”. Since the 2000s this animal [[ScienceMarchesOn has been considered a new species of the genus]] ''[[ScienceMarchesOn Ornithomimus]]'', and has disappeared from the official dinosaur list.\\\

Other Liaoning coelurosaurs showed up in the third episode "Dino-Birds" of the miniseries ''PrehistoricPark''. The chosen ones were: the buck-toothed oviraptorosaur ''Incisivosaurus'' because of its [[RuleOfFunny funny look]], the troodontid ''Mei'', which is now “the shortest-named dino” along with the alvarezsaurid ''Kol'' (the former record-holders were the Australian ankylosaur ''Minmi'' and the oviraptorosaur ''Khaan''), and, naturally, the ever-present ''Microraptor'' (see below).[[hottip:*: Note, however, that fossils of ''Incisivosaurus'' and ''Mei'' have not yet been found preserving soft tissues, unlike the other dinosaurs listed here. Nonetheless, being maniraptors, they almost certainly had feathers. Also, ''Microraptor'' is in fact known from a [[AnachronismStew younger formation]] than the other dinosaurs mentioned here.]] In “Dino-Birds”, Nigel Marven makes a TimeTravel to the Cretaceous China to save some ''Microraptor''s from extinction; before ending the mission, he encounters several ''Mei'' (referred to by their whole scientific name: ''Mei long'') apparently sleeping in the same bird-like position in which the type specimen was found fossilized (they were actually dead), while the other ''Mei long'' act as the “danger of the forest”, and to fit their fearsome better role, are [[RuleOfCool oversized]] [[SomewhereAPaleontologistIsCrying and lack feathers]].\\\

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mononykus Dinosaurian anteaters,]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvarezsaurus or what?]]: ''Mononykus'' and ''Alvarezsaurus''

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinocheirus Up To Eleven version 1]]: ''Deinocheirus''

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segnosaurus Up To Eleven version 2]]: ''Segnosaurus''

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therizinosaurus Up To Eleven version 3]]: ''Therizinosaurus''

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigantoraptor Up To Eleven version 4]]: ''Gigantoraptor''

''Gigantoraptor'' recenly recevied some mild media attention, appearing in paleo-documentaries like ''PlanetDinosaur'' and ''DinosaurRevolution''. It could well be on its way to becoming a new member of the StockDinosaurs.

In this show, ''Utahraptor''s are also portrayed in the way dromeosaurids were once represented in paleo-art: naked-skinned, [[PantheraAwesome colored like big cats]], chasing an iguanodont [[ZergRush in pack]], jumping on it using their sickle-claws as spurs, and eventually killing it with (a quite exaggerated) ease. Many dino-books have made this thing UpToEleven with ''Dromaeosaurus'', depicting scenes in which these turkey-sized predators chase in packs ''adult ''Edmontosaurus'' and ''Triceratops'' 500 times heavier'', and ''[[BeyondTheImpossible disemboweling them with their sickle-claws]]''. [[ScienceMarchesOn Current paleontology]] suggests that ''Dromaeosaurus'' and the other “raptors” hunted small prey and only ate the carcasses of the giant herbivores. But stop now.\\\

''Gigantoraptor'' recenly recevied some mild media attention, appearing in paleo-documentaries like ''PlanetDinosaur'' and ''DinosaurRevolution''. It could well be no its way to becoming a new member of the StockDinosaurs.

* RaptorAttack exhaustively talks about dromaeosaurids. We’ll talk more about their namesake ''Dromaeosaurus'', and other non-stock relatives. The very first discovered dromaeosaurid (1920s), ''Dromaeosaurus'' has an unexpectedly generic meaning: just “running lizard”. This because its sickle claws were missing in its original skeleton, and scientists believed it was a generic type of small theropod. The image of a [[HookHand hook-footed]] dinosaur came to light only after the description of ''Deinonychus'' in the sixties.\\
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The same size of ''[[StockDinosaurs Velociraptor]]'' but with a shorter head and stronger jaws and teeth, ''Dromaeosaurus'' is less-frequently portrayed than the PowerTrio made up of ''Utahraptor'', ''Velociraptor'', and ''Deinonychus''. Despite this, ''Dromaeosaurus'' appears regularly in dino-books and has also made some apparitions in TV documentaries. If you see a dromeosaurid interacting with ''TyrannosaurusRex'' or ''Triceratops'' in Late Cretaceous North America, it would be ''Dromaeosaurus'' [[hottip:*:To be correct, however, ''Dromaeosaurus'' lived some million years before the end of the Cretaceous in which ''T. rex'' and ''Triceratops'' lived, but some fragmentary remains might suggest it reached even the last bit of the Mesozoic.]] -- unless the writers DidNotDoTheResearch or TheyJustDidntCare: some docus have shown ''Deinonychus'' in this role. ''WalkingWithDinosaurs'' dealed with the problem in a bizarre way: here, the dromeosaurids are officially ''Dromaeosaurus''… but ''have the shape of Deinonychus''. Actually, every dromeosaurid in the original series was a ''Deinonychus'', ''Utahraptor'' included -- which, even though their name clearly means “Utah thief”, were portrayed [[MisplacedWildlife living in Europe]] [[TheyJustDidntCare for some reason]]. And to make the “utahraptors” and the “dromeosauruses” distinguishable, they show up [[PaletteSwap with a different coloration]].\\
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In this show, ''Utahraptor''s are also portrayed in the way dromeosaurids were once represented in paleo-art: naked-skinned, [[PantheraAwesome colored like big cats]], chasing an iguanodont [[ZergRush in pack]], jumping on it using their sickle-claws as spurs, and eventually killing it with (a quite exaggerated) ease. Many dino-books have made this thing UpToEleven with ''Dromaeosaurus'', depicting scenes in which these turkey-sized predators chase in packs ''adult ''Edmontosaurus'' and ''Triceratops'' 500 times heavier'', and ''[[BeyondTheImpossible disemboweling them with their sickle-claws]]''. [[ScienceMarchesOn Current paleontology]] suggests that ''Dromaeosaurus'' and the other “raptors” hunted small prey and only ate the carcasses of the giant herbivores. But stop now.\\
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''Dromaeosaurus'', ''Velociraptor'', ''Deinonychus'' and ''Utahraptor'', together with some other genera, used to make ''the'' dromaeosaurids before the ''JurassicPark'' times and also few years later (middle 1990s). We now know they actually ''[[ScienceMarchesOn do not match ]]'' [[SmallTaxonomyPools the great variety within their family]]. Especially since the beginning of the 2000s, mny new dromaeosaur species have been discovered, most of them [[SureWhyNot having received the suffix raptor]]. Examples are the North-American ''Bambiraptor'' (so called because its skeleton [[Disney/{{Bambi}} was from a juvenile]]); the European ''Pyroraptor''; and the South American, short-armed ''Austroraptor''. One exception is ''Achillobator'', which lived in Late Cretaceous Mongolia and, with its 6 m long body, was only slightly smaller than ''Utahraptor'' from [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Utah]]. These were all ground-dwelling kinds with a running-plan like the traditionally-intended “raptors”.\\
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* Many dinosaurs have “-saurus” at the end, but some examples have this reversed: the hadrosaur ''Saurolophus'', the ankylosaur ''Sauropelta'', and this one as well: ''Saurornithoides'' (“bird-like lizard”). One of the several ''[[StockDinosaurs Troodon]]'' relatives found in Asia, ''Saurornithoides'' shared the same Late Cretaceous habitat with two iconic similar-sized theropods, ''[[StockDinosaurs Velociraptor]]'' and ''Oviraptor''. These three maniraptorans were discovered by the American expedition in Mongolia led by Roy Chapman Andrews in the 1920s.\\
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Like ''Velociraptor'', ''Saurornithoides'' was considered a “generic coelurosaur” until the 1970s, when it and ''Troodon'' (then still called “''Stenonychosaurus''”) were put in their own family, the "saurornithoidids" (now called “troodontids”). Since the 1990s, the troodontid family has acquired several new relatives, usually Cretaceous: some are cited below in the “Liaoning Coelurosaurs” section.\\
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Traditionally, ''Troodon'' and ''Saurornithoides'' have been depicted as cunning nocturnal hunters who used their large, forward-facing eyes (usually shown with cat-like or ''even [[AnimalEyes gecko-like]]'' pupils), as well as their great intelligence to catch small mammals, grasping them with their three-fingered hands weaponed with curved claws and opposable thumbs. More realistically, their eyes were bird-like with round pupils, their hands were not so prehensile, and their great smartness is debatable (see RaptorAttack). Furthermore, according to recent research, at least ''Troodon'' was more probably omnivorous or even ''herbivorous'' (a bit like ornithomimids), because its teeth were tiny and not-so-sharp, resembling those of plant-eating dinos. However, ''Saurornithoides'', having slightly larger head and teeth than ''Troodon'', was more ''Velociraptor''-like than the latter, and maybe it really corresponded to the former portrait of a specialized hunter.\\
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* Which is the most iconic ornithomimid in pop-consciousness? Well, it depends on age and location. The last-generation dino-fans would respond by saying ''[[JurassicPark Gallimimus]]''; the long-standing ones have a better chance to say ''[[StockDinosaurs Ornithomimus]]''… at least, if they’re from EagleLand. Indeed, in some other countries, this role has always been ruled by a third animal, ''[[RuleOfThree Struthiomimus]]''.\\
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Most ornithomimids have bird-related prefixes and the suffix –''mimus'' in their name. ''Ornithomimus'' simply means “bird-mimic”, ''Gallimimus'' “rooster-mimic” (even though it hardly resembles one…). While ''Struthiomimus'' means "ostrich-mimic" - maybe the most apt name, corresponding with the traditional nickname of the group, “Ostrich-mimic dinosaurs”. ''Struthiomimus'' lived in Late Cretaceous North America like ''Ornithomimus'', was the same size, and the two were so similar each other, they were once believed one and the same. However, ''Struthiomimus'' had stronger forelimbs and claws than ''Ornithomimus'', and was definitively recognized distinct in the 1970s. A third ornithomimid was described in the same years in North America, with a name that makes a sort of tongue twister: ''Dromiceiomimus'', “emu-mimic”[[hottip:*:''Dromiceius novaehollandiae'' was the former scientific name of the emu; [[ScienceMarchesOn now it's]] ''Dromaius novaehollandiae'', but its meaning is in both cases “runner of the New Holland” (the old name of Australia)]]. This one was also virtually identical to its neighbors, only with wider eyes and longer legs, and was also cited as the “fastest-running dinosaur”. Since the 2000s this animal [[ScienceMarchesOn has been considered a new species of the genus]] ''[[ScienceMarchesOn Ornithomimus]]'', and has disappeared from the official dinosaur list.\\
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* ''[[StockDinosaurs Oviraptor]]'' had many relatives. Most of them have been found since the 1990s in Cretaceous Asia, but one from in North America has also been known since the 1910s: ''Chirostenotes'', to this day still one of the few North-American oviraptorosaurs. Despite this “privileged” position, ''Chirostenotes'' remains a rather obscure dinosaur, and has had a convoluted ScienceMarchesOn-story. Since its first skeleton lacked the skull, was initially classified a “generic toothed coelurosaur”. Its toothless skull was found in 1940, but was named ''Caenagnathus'' and believed to be a bird. In the 1980s, scientists decided that ''Caenagnathus'' and ''Chirostenotes'' were one and the same, and “''Caenagnathus''” fell in disuse, having been created after the other name.\\
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But in recent years, someone has again made these genera distinct. Since the skull showed only a small relief on the nose, ''Chirostenotes'' was shown almost-crestless in old portraits; but the skull was incomplete, and now is thought it had a large crest similar to that of ''Citipati'': that is, the animal which people usually think of when they think “''Oviraptor''”. Indeed, most alleged “''Oviraptor''” remains have been reclassified into other genera: among these the famous “dinosaur on its nest” found in the 1990s, which also contributed to debunk the classic “egg-robbing specialist” reputation.\\
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* When did the Great Feather Adventure begin? The answer: in 1980, in the Mongolian Gobi Desert, the same place where ''Oviraptor'' and ''Velociraptor'' were first discovered. That year, a new kind of Late Cretaceous “coelurosaur” was described from a partial skeleton, which astonished the scientist who found it. He chose to name his find ''Avimimus'' - “bird mimic”, the same as ''Ornithomimus'', only with a Latin prefix instead of Greek. Despite this, ''Avimimus'' was not an ornithomimid, but an only 5 ft long, late-surviving basal oviraptorosaur. Nothing special per-se… except for one thing: it was the ''very first'' dinosaur whose skeleton showed some evidence of feathers. Not prints on the rock however, only a crest on its arm-bones that resembled that of modern birds. For about 15 years since then, ''Avimimus'' has been the ''only'' non-avian dinosaur regularly portrayed with feathers – often in an incorrect way: certain depictions showed it as a short-winged ''Archaeopteryx'' with the same head-shape, jaws filled with teeth, and splayed forelimbs, as if was about to take off.\\
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* The first unequivocal non-avian dinosaur fossils with actual feathers preserved came to light in the second half of the 1990s in Liaoning (province of China). They were extraordinarily well-preserved, better than almost any other known dinosaur fossil; they were all small-sized (the biggest was only 8 ft long); they hailed mostly from the Early Cretaceous (unlike ''Avimimus''); and they represented almost all of the main coelurosaur subgroups, giving a sort of snapshot of the coelurosaurian fauna of the time. More than 20 genera have been described so far, and others could still join them in the future: we’ll mention only some examples.\\
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''Sinosauropteryx'' (“Chinese feathered lizard”) was the first to be discovered (1996); a compsognathid, it was the very first non-avian dinosaur to have shown prints of feathers; being it was a non-maniraptoran coelurosaur, these were still down-like, unlike modern feathers. The very first Liaoning coelurosaurs, discovered with vaned feathers in 1997 and 1998, were much closer to birds: these were ''Protarchaeopteryx'' (“First Archaeopteryx”) and ''Caudipteryx'' (“feathered tail”). Both were basal oviraptorosaurs similar to ''Avimimus'', but only 2-3 ft long and with teeth; they had pennaceous feathers on their forearms and their tail feathers were homologous to those of the famous ''[[StockDinosaurs Archaeopteryx]]'' (not casually, these three dinosaurs have been named with the suffix -pteryx).\\
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However, the wing-feathers of ''Caudipteryx'' and ''Protarchaeopteryx'' were short and symmetrical, unlike those of true birds, and thus totally unsuitable for flight. Soon after, the list of feathered dinosaur fossils increased dramatically each year. The herbivorous ''Beipiaosaurus'' is perhaps the most specialized among them, being a small therizinosaur (see at the bottom of the page) with a down-like covering and some thin feathers on its forearm. In 2004, ''even a feathered tyrannosauroid'' was discovered: ''Dilong'', a slender coelurosaur with little external resemblance to a ''T. rex'', preserving some down-like feathers.\\
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Other Liaoning coelurosaurs showed up in the third episode "Dino-Birds" of the miniseries ''PrehistoricPark''. The chosen ones were: the buck-toothed oviraptorosaur ''Incisivosaurus'' because of its [[RuleOfFunny funny look]], the troodontid ''Mei'', which is now “the shortest-named dino” along with the alvarezsaurid ''Kol'' (the former record-holders were the Australian ankylosaur ''Minmi'' and the oviraptorosaur ''Khaan''), and, naturally, the ever-present ''Microraptor'' (see below).[[hottip:*: Note, however, that fossils of ''Incisivosaurus'' and ''Mei'' have not yet been found preserving soft tissues, unlike the other dinosaurs listed here. Nonetheless, being maniraptors, they almost certainly had feathers. Also, ''Microraptor'' is in fact known from a [[AnachronismStew younger formation]] than the other dinosaurs mentioned here.]] In “Dino-Birds”, Nigel Marven makes a TimeTravel to the Cretaceous China to save some ''Microraptor''s from extinction; before ending the mission, he encounters several ''Mei'' (referred to by their whole scientific name: ''Mei long'') apparently sleeping in the same bird-like position in which the type specimen was found fossilized (they were actually dead), while the other ''Mei long'' act as the “danger of the forest”, and to fit their fearsome better role, are [[RuleOfCool oversized]] [[SomewhereAPaleontologistIsCrying and lack feathers]].\\
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Returning to RealLife, the most extraordinary Liaoning discovery has come in 2009 from Jurassic rocks: ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchiornis Anchiornis]]'' (literally “near bird”). This pigeon-sized troodontid (once the smallest non-avian dinosaur known, but now usurped of this record by a fragmentary tiny indeterminate maniraptor from Britain) has, amazingly, preserved not only its whole plumage, but ''even the original colors''. Since colors have almost never preserved in vertebrate fossil record, it’s easy to understand the extraordinariness of such a discovery. Even the aforementioned ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinosauropteryx#Colouration Sinosauropteryx]]'' has left some traces of color, as did probably other feathered dinosaur fossils, such as the basal bird ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeOtherExtinctCreatures Confuciusornis]]'' and the dromaeosaurid ''Sinornithosaurus''. Still, ''Anchiornis'' remains the most well-preserved, and it is the only non-avian dinosaur whose precise appearance is known with a reasonable degree of sureness.\\
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* Discovered in 2000, ''Microraptor'' is another Liaoning coelurosaur, named “small thief”; as the "-raptor" suffix suggests, it was a dromaeosaurid. It was a find that strongly surprised not only casual paleo-fans but also the entire paleontologist community. And not because it was a feathered dino fossil (such animals were already known from the same site); nor just because it was the smallest non-avian dinosaur known at that point (merely 1.5ft long, but this record is contended now by other non-avian maniraptors). It was its unique body-plan that astonished us all. A ''four-winged dinosaur''! More precisely, its hindlimbs had a feather-covering incredibly similar to that of its forelimbs, giving it its unbelievable appearance.\\
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These wings had the same structure as the wings of true birds, with asymmetrical, vane-like feathers on the forelimbs, likewise on the hindlimbs, and placed in a "fan" at the tip of its long tail: in short, very similar to the kind of plumage of the well-known ''Archaeopteryx'' (itself recently found to have had remnants of such large feathers on its legs). Of course, paleontologists and dino-fans have begun WildMassGuessing about its way of life. Since its discovery, ''Microraptor'' has been suggested to have been a tree-climber, with forelimbs as developed as the hindlimbs, both fitted with robust claws apt for climbing upright tree-trunks; however, [[http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0022292 a study]] published in 2011 suggests it might have been terrestrial instead. The way it traversed the air is also controversial; with true flight like modern birds, or just simple gliding like modern “flying” squirrels, “flying” fish and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draco_volans “flying” lizards]]? Currently many scientists think ''Microraptor'' was actually a flier (although not as good as modern birds): not only that, it seemed to be ''even better adapted'' for flight than ''Archaeopteryx''.\\
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If this is true, it would mean that flight evolved ''before'' the appearance of the so-called “first-bird”, because ''Microraptor'' was less close to modern birds than ''Archaeopteryx'' was. And since flight was achieved in basal dromaeosaurids, this would mean that… yes, ''Velociraptor'' and all other dromaeosaurids may have descended from ''flying'' ancestors! One scientist did go UpToEleven declaring that ''all'' maniraptorans descended from flying ancestors: this would mean, ''Troodon'', ''Oviraptor'', and even the huge ''Therizinosaurus'' were ancestrally '''[[GiantFlyer creatures of the air]]''', which, like ostriches or rheas, returned to a more ground-level way of life and increased their size.\\
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Whatever the case was in RealLife, ''Microraptor'' immediately became the center of much interest soon after the year 2000, becoming rapidly popular in illustrated books (also because was the considered the smallest dinosaur at the time); it became even more widely-known after being portrayed as one of the main animal characters in the aforementioned ''PrehistoricPark'' (where it was portrayed with the classic, splayed-limbs gliding style, now known to be anatomically impossible). Soon afterwards, it started to gain attention by the broader pop-cultural world, and it could at this point be qualified as a true [[StockDinosaurs Stock Dinosaur]] (even if only in the Rarely-Seen section).\\
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* Let’s go away from Liaoning and discover another odd-looking bird-dinosaur, ''Mononykus''. Discovered in 1993 and initially called “''Mononychus''” (that name was already taken by an insect), this is an enigmatic animal which shared Late Cretaceous Mongolia with ''Avimimus'', ''Velociraptor'', ''Saurornithoides'', ''Oviraptor'' and several other coelurosaurs. Only 3 ft long, its name means “one claw” because of its strange, ''one-fingered'' hands (the other two digits usually present in coelurosaurian hands were simple stubs in ''Mononykus''). We still don't know how ''Mononykus'' could use its [[HookHand “hooks”]]: maybe to destroy termite-mounds? One close relative, ''Shuvuuia'' (which just means “bird” in Mongolian), was a close relative found in 1999 which lived alongside ''Mononykus''. Unlike the latter, ''Shuvuuia'' has left some cranial remains, which show a mobile upper jaw totally similar to a modern bird's; but this does nothing but make their way of life even more enigmatic. These dinosaurs, along with other relatives, make together the Alvarezsaurids, a mainly Cretaceous family named after ''Alvarezsaurus'', a more primitive South American form discovered incidentally in the same year as Mononykus. It’s significant that ''Alvarezsaurus'' was initially thought [[ScienceMarchesOn a late-surviving ceratosaur convergently similar to an ornithomimid]]. While ''Mononykus'', after being discovered, was identified as a sort of ''running bird'', closer to an house sparrow than ''Archaeopteryx'' was. Actually, classification of the whole family has always been very problematic: they have been variably put next to ornithomimids, next to troodontids, or next to ''Archaeopteryx'' (in this case they would be the closest bird relatives); this because their specialized hands made comparisons with other theropods a difficult task. However, the discovery in 2010 of a basal relative called ''Haplocheirus'' with a complete, three-fingered hand, has since confirmed alvarezsaurs as non-avian maniraptors. Also note that, since “Mononychus” was changed in “Mononykus”, most alvarezsaurid genera have since called with the suffix –onykus, in a classic FollowTheLeader example. One of them has been found in Alberta, living along many popular Late Cretaceous dinosaurs: ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Albertonykus]]''.

* Most bird-like dinosaurs were small and unimpressive in RealLife compared with many other dinosaurs. This couldn’t definitively be said about the following examples, expecially this one: ''Deinocheirus'' (“terrible hands”, not to be confused with ''Deinonychus'', “terrible claw”). This is indeed one of the largest known theropods, and at the same time, one of the most mysterious. Discovered in the 1970s in Mongolia, Late Cretaceous, only its complete forelimbs are known, along with shoulder-blades and some other pieces from the remaining skeleton. These forelimbs were similar in shape to those of an ornithomimid… only, they were ''two times taller than a fully grown human''. To give the idea, several drawings have shows those immense “arms” encircling an adult man, with the three-fingered hands (each as wide as a TV-set) shown like they’re going to grasp and then lift him. The same drawings usually don’t show the whole body, because its shape is totally unknown. Some thought it had forelimbs longer than the hindlimbs, but this is unlikely, since this would have forced the animal to walk on four legs: an impossible thing, since its hands were inapt for walking on. It’s more probable that ''Deinocheirus'' had the same body shape of the classic ornithomimids. If its forelimbs had the same proportions of a ''Gallimimus'', ''Deinocheirus'' could have been as long as a ''Spinosaurus'', and even taller, thanks to the longer neck. Some scientists have even said that [[UpToEleven it could reach the fifth story of a building]] if alive today, and could have weighed like ''two elephants'', that is to say, two ''[[TyrannosaurusRex T. rex]]''. But most experts don’t agree with these extreme ideas, and put ''Deinocheirus'' in the same size-range of ''Tyrannosaurus'' or ''Allosaurus''. Moreover, being an ornithomimosaur, it would be rather slender-framed, and thus its unlikely that was as heavy as two elephants: perhaps was even lighter than ''T.rex''. The way-of-life of ''Deinocheirus'' has always been even more enigmatic, ans still remains today. ''Deinocheirus'' could be either a basal toothed ornithomimosaur or a derived toothless ornithomimid. If the first is true, ''Deinocheirus'' could have been an ''active hunter'', and someone could even imagine titanic battles againts the contemporaneous T.rex relative ''Tarbosaurus'' or even ''Therizinosaurus'' (see below). But wait: even with sharp-toothed jaws, ''Deinocheirus'' shouldn’t be such a powerful killer. Its jaws and teeth would be much smaller and weaker than tyrannosaurs, carnosaurs, or even spinosaurids. Furthermore, its claws seem too blunt to have ripped the tough skin of a hadrosaur or a sauropod. Today, the best guesses consider ''Deinocheirus'' a sort of giant omnivore, which could have eaten tree-tops using its forelimbs to pull down high branches, and at the same time could have scavenged carrion of large herbivores, hunted small dinosaurs that could be swallowed whole,and maybe even chased ''Tarbosaurus'' away from their kills using its “terrible hands” as a scaring device. To resolve the mystery, we dino-fans still are patiently waiting for a complete ''Deinocheirus'' skeleton.

* In RealLife, most dinosaurs would appear as a sort of MixAndMatchCritters if alive today, with traits resembling at the same time mammals, bird, and crocodiles. But the MixAndMatchCritter trope can also be found in a more subtle way, with some non-stock dinosaurs which resembled a mixup of other, more familiar dinos: ''Segnosaurus'' used to be the best example in the recent past. When its incomplete remains were discovered in the 1970s in Late Cretaceous Mongolia, this 7 m long dinosaur made the scientists’ eyes roll in their sockets: how could a dinosaur have at the same time the body-shape of a ''prosauropod'', hands and feet of a ''theropod'', and a ''Iguanodon''-like skull with round bill in front and grinding teeth behind? And, even though its pelvis was clearly saurischian in its overall structure, why did it have the pubis uniquely pointing ''backwards''? Taxonomists were totally confused, and placed ''Segnosaurus'' in its own group, the “segnosaurs”, along with some less-known relatives. These were believed a separate evolutive branch which arose early in dino-evolution, and were classified in the middle between theropods and sauropodomorphs or even saurischians and ornithischians. ScienceMarchesOn however, and at the beginning of the 1990s a much smaller relative, the 3.5 m long ''Alxasaurus'' from Early Cretaceous China, clearly showed a coelurosaurian anatomy. This meant: segnosaurians were not only true theropods, but also members of the Maniraptoriformes (the subject of this page). Not only this: thanks to a more accurate comparison, it was discovered that the enigmatic ''Therizinosaurus'' was another member of the same group. Today, ''Therizinosaurus'', being [[RuleOfCool far cooler-looking]], is much more frequent in books than ''Segnosaurus'', and the whole group is now more frequently called “therizinosaurians”. ''Therizinosaurus'' too has had its own ScienceMarchesOn story, totally independent from that of ''Segnosaurus'': see the next paragraph to watch it. The diet of ''Segnosaurus'' used to be just [[WildMassGuessing as problematic as its classification]]. One theory made it a ''fish-eater'' like ''[[StockDinosaurs Baryonyx]]'', but slippery fishes could have easily escaped from its round beak; some paintings had shown it even with webbed feet, based on footprints. Another unlikely hypothesis made segnosaurians termite-eaters because of their large handclaws apparently apt to dig into termite-mounds; but again, these dinosaurs hadn't the typical tubular muzzle of a mammalian anteater, and such a lage creature could not live on insects alone. Today we think therizinosaurs were [[OxymoronicBeing plant-eating theropods]]. This also explains their backward-pointing pubis: its meaning was to give space to the massive gut of a herbivore without losing the bipedality of a theropod. [[hottip: *: Furthermore, other theropods with backward-pointing pubes are now known, most of which are coelurosaurs, including dromaeosaurids and birds, though these appear to have acquired their backward-pointing pubes through a change in which muscles they used for running.]]. Today, Segnosaurs are a rather well-known group, which includes both large and small genera. Among the large ones (all Late Cretaceous), most have been found in Asia just like ''Segnosaurus'' and ''Therizinosaurus'' (ex. ''Erlikosaurus''), but one was found in North America: ''Nothronychus''. Among small therizinosaurs (all Early Cretaceous), other than ''Alxasaurus'' and the feathered ''Beipiaosaurus'', is worthy of note the North American ''Falcarius'' - found in 2006, this one has left a whole graveyard containing hundreds of specimens.

* ''Therizinosaurus'' could be considered the [[NonIdenticalTwins Non Identical Twin]] of ''Deinocheirus''. A colossal yet bird-like theropod like ''Deinocheirus'', specialized to a non-big-prey-based diet like ''Deinocheirus''; discovered in Late Cretaceous Mongolia like ''Deinocheirus''; known mainly by forelimbs and few other material like ''Deinocheirus''; entered in the dinosaur list in the same period of ''Deinocheirus''; and, last but not least, another candidate for “the biggest theropod” title [[MadnessMantra like]] ''[[MadnessMantra Deinocheirus]]''! But, '''un'''like ''Deinocheirus'', ''Therizinosaurus'' was not a giant ornithomimosaur. It was even more bizarre animal. Discovered in the 1950s but recognized as a dinosaur only in the 1970s, its forelimbs were as long and powerful as those of the giant ornithomimosaur. But ''Therizinosaurus'' had an additional thing which made them [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter even more awesome]]: [[WolverineClaws three scythe-like claws]] on each hand (hence its name, “scythe lizard”), some ''as long as an human arm''. In short, the biggest nails known so far within the entire Animal Kingdom, It was just one of these oversized claws the first known remain, which [[ScienceMarchesOn was originally thought a rib of a marine turtle]]. With such poweful weapons, ''Therizinosaurus'' has received in the past the same treatment of ''Deinocheirus'', with several experts that described both dinosaurs as fearsome carnivores. Some old drawings went to the point to show our “scythe-dino” as a giant deinonychosaur with ''sickle-claws'' on each foot (if ''Therizinosaurus'' was really shaped that way, it would really have been the more BadAss creature dinosaur one can imagine…) More accurate researches made at the beginning of the 1990s definitively debunked these fantasies: we now know with a good level of sureness ''Therizinosaurus'' was a bulky-bodied, round-bellied, and quite slow-moving animal, that used its claws mainly to pulling down branches and reaching better the leaves on the tree-tops. Furthermore, its jaws were arguably weak with a rounded horny tip and small grinding teeth similar to those seen in its relative ''Segnosaurus''. This obviously doesn't low its general coolness: even with this new shape, ''Therizinosaurus'' remains an odd-looking, powerful beast, and just thanks its massive body, it might even be the biggest and heaviest theropod ever discovered, weighing even more than the famous ''[[StockDinosaurs Spinosaurus]]''. Just like with ''Deinocheirus'', we dino-fans are patiently waiting for new exciting remains of our "WolverineClaws -osaurus" being excavated. Meanwhile, a special spinoff of ''WalkingWithDinosaurs'' was made in 2002, which made our imagination temporarily recreated in CGI: in the episode called “Giant Claw” NigelMarven talks about ''Therizinosaurus'', [[LampshadeHanging lampshading]] its whole ScienceMarchesOn story from a mighty carnivore to a GentleGiant. Nigel is in Late Cretaceous Mongolia searching for the possessor of one eponymous “giant claw”, which the zoologist believes pertaining to a fearsome predator. After having several adventures with other famous dinosaurs of the same habitat (''Protoceratops'', ''Velociraptor'', etc.), Nigel comes face-to-face with a fight between ''Therizinosaurus'' and ''Tarbosaurus'': even though the former unexpectly reveals to be a herbivore, it easily defeats the tyrannosaur hitting the latter with its scythe-claws, and obligating the predator to flee. Finally, the [[RuleOfCool therizinosaur licks Nigel’s face]]. Really!

* Most ''[[StockDinosaurs Oviraptor]]'' relatives were small-sized like their prototype, except one: ''Gigantoraptor''. Discovered in Asia only in 2007, this dinosaur, despite the way it sounds, is ''not'' an overgrown dromaeosaur: its name means “gigantic thief” (an evident reference to ''Oviraptor''). ''Gigantoraptor'' grew up to 25ft in length, almost as big as the neighboring tyrannosaur ''Tarbosaurus'', but with the same anatomy of the classic oviraptorosaurs: if the latter’s way of life is hard to imagine, much more the Gigantoraptor’s one. That's cool: three usually-small-sized lineages of non-avian coelurosaurs have at least one oversized member within: ''Deinocheirus'' the giant ornithomimosaur, ''Utahraptor'' the giant dromaeosaur, and ''Gigantoraptor'' [[RuleOfThree the giant oviraptorosaur]]. On the other hand, tyrannosaurs and therizinosaurs include ''many'' gigantic species, while other coelurosaurs, such as the troodonts, have none. But who knows? Maybe one day a “Gigantroodon” would be discovered…

However, the wing-feathers of ''Caudipteryx'' and ''Protarchaeopteryx'' were short and symmetrical, unlike those of true birds, and thus totally unsuitable for flight. Soon after, the list of feathered dinosaur fossils increased dramatically each year. The herbivorous ''Beipiaosaurus'' is perhaps the most specialized among them, being a small therizinosaur (see at the bottom of the page) with a down-like covering and some thin feathers on its forearm. In 2004, ''even a feathered tyrannosauroid'' was discovered: ''Dilong'', a slender coelurosaur with little external resemblance to a ''T. rex'', covered only by down-like feathers.\\

However, the wing-feathers of ''Caudipteryx'' and ''Protarchaeopteryx''were short and symmetrical unlike those of true birds, and totally unsuitable for flight. Soon after, the list of feathered dinosaur fossils increased drammatically each year. The herbivorous ''Beipiaosaurus'' is perhaps the most specialized among them, being a small therizinosaur (see at the bottom of the page) with a down-like covering and some thin feathers on its forearm. In 2004, ''even a feathered tyrannosauroid'' was discovered: ''Dilong'', a slender coelurosaur with a little external resemblance with a ''T. rex'', and covered only by down-like feathers. Other Liaoning coelurosaurs showed up in the third episode "Dino-Birds" of the miniseries ''[[WalkingWithDinosaurs Prehistoric Park]]''. The chosen ones were: the buck-toothed oviraptorosaur ''Incisivosaurus'' because of its [[RuleOfFunny funny look]], the troodontid ''Mei'', which is now “the shortest-named dino” along with the alvarezsaurid ''Kol'' (the former record-holders were the Australian ankylosaur ''Minmi'' and the oviraptorosaur ''Khaan''), and, naturally, the ever-present ''Microraptor'' (see below). [[hottip: *: Note, however, that fossils of ''Incisivosaurus'' and ''Mei'' have not yet been found preserving soft tissues, unlike the other dinosaurs listed here. Nonetheless, they, being maniraptors, almost certainly had feathers. Also, ''Microraptor'' is in fact known from a [[AnachronismStew younger formation]] than the other dinosaurs mentioned here.]] In “Dino-Birds”, Nigel Marven makes a TimeTravel towards the Cretaceous China to save some ''Microraptor''s from extinction; before ending the mission, he encounters several ''Mei'' (called with their whole scientific name: ''Mei long'') apparently sleeping in the same bird-like position in which the type specimen was found fossilized (they were actually dead), while the other ''Mei long'' act as the “danger of the forest”, and to fit better their role, are [[RuleOfCool oversized and without any feathers]]. Returning to RealLife, the most extraordinary Liaoning discovery has come in 2009 from Jurassic rocks: ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchiornis Anchiornis]]'' (literally “near bird”). This pigeon-sized troodontid (once the smallest non-avian dinosaur known, but now usurped of this record by a fragmentary tiny indeterminate maniraptor from Britain) has amazingly, preserved not only its whole plumage, but ''even the original colors''. Since colors have almost never preserved in vertebrate fossil record, it’s easy to understand the extraordinarity of such a discovery. Even the aforementioned ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinosauropteryx#Colouration Sinosauropteryx]]'' has left some traces of color as well, as probably do other feathered dinosaur fossils such as the basal bird ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeOtherExtinctCreatures Confuciusornis]]'' and the dromaeosaurid ''Sinornithosaurus''. Still, ''Anchiornis'' remains the most well-preserved, and it is the only non-avian dinosaur whose precise appearence is known with a reasonable degree od sureness. Yes, because fossilization processes often change the original patterns of the alive animals, and the real colors of ''Anchiornis'' could have faded or even farily changed in 160 million years. And the exact appearance of dinosaurian [[EyesNeverLie eyes]] would never be known exactly. Even though bird-like theropods did almost surely have very bird-like expressions, not snake-like as shown by many popular portraits [[DidNotDoTheResearch even today]].

* Discovered in 2000, ''Microraptor'' is another Liaoning coelurosaur, named “small thief” because was a dromaeosaurid. It was a find that strongly surprised not only paleo-fans but also the whole paleontologist community. And not because it was a feathered dino fossil (such animals were already known from the same site); nor just because it was the smallest non-avian dinosaur known at that point (merely 1.5ft long, but this record is contended now by other non-avian maniraptors). It was its unique body-plan that astonished us all. A ''four-winged dinosaur''! More precisely, its hindlimbs did have a feather-covering incredibly similar to that of its forelimbs, giving it its unbelievable appearence. These wings were the same structure of true birds, with asymmetrical van-like feathers on the forelimbs, asymmetrical also on the hindlimbs, and placed in a fan at the tip of its long tail: in short, very similar to the same kind of plumage of the well-known ''Archaeopteryx'' (which has recently revealed to have itself some remnant large feathers in its legs!) Of course, WildMassGuessing has raised among paleontologists and dino-fans about its way of life. Since its discovery ''Microraptor'' has been suggested to be a tree-climbing animal, with forelimbs as developed as the hindlimbs, both with robust claws apt to climbing upright tree-trunks; however, [[http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0022292 a study]] published in 2011 suggests it might have been terrestrial instead. The way it crossed the air is also controversial; with true flight like modern birds, or just a simple gliding like modern “flying” squirrels, “flying” fish and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draco_volans “flying” lizards]]? Now many scientists think ''Microraptor'' was actually a flier (although not as great of one as are modern birds): not only, it seemed to be ''even better adapted'' for flight than ''Archaeopteryx''. If true, this would mean that flight evolved ''before'' the apparition of the so-called “first-bird”, because ''Microraptor'' was less close to modern birds than was ''Archaeopteryx''. And since flight was achieved in basal dromaeosaurids, this would mean… yes, ''Velociraptor'' and all other dromaeosaurids descended from ''flying'' ancestors. One scientist did go UpToEleven declairing that ''all'' maniraptorans descended from flying ancestors: this would mean, ''Troodon'', ''Oviraptor'', and even the huge ''Therizinosaurus'' were ancestrally '''[[GiantFlyer creatures of the air]]''', which, like ostriches or rheas, returned to a more ground-level way of life and increased their size. Whatever was in RealLife, ''Microraptor'' became immediately the subject of much interest soon after year 2000, becoming rapidly popular in illustrated books (also because was the considered the smallest dinosaur at the time); it became even more widely-known after being portrayed as the main animal character in the aforementioned ''[[WalkingWithDinosaurs Prehistoric Park]]'' (in which is portrayed in the classic gliding style). Soon after it started to gain attention by the broader pop-cultural world as well, and it could at this point be qualified as a true [[StockDinosaurs Stock Dinosaur]] (even only in the Rarely-Seen section). ''Microraptor'' went also to the point to become victim of a paleontological fake. The tail of one specimen was mixed with the front end of a true bird found in Liaoning, ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeOtherExtinctCreatures Yanornis]]''; the so-created MixAndMatchCritter was published in media as a new kind of bird-dinosaur, “Archaeoraptor”, but this hoax was exposed after qualified scientists studied the specimen.

Let’s talk about the popular word [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maniraptora “maniraptors”]]. This term means “robbing hand”, and refers to their large, grasping hands with three fingers each (although some had lost some digits). Maniraptorans make together a natural subgroup of coelurosaurian theropods containing the most bird-related (and bird-looking) non-avian dinosaurs: dromaeosaurids, troodontids, oviraptorosaurs, and other groups. Technically, also ''birds''. All maniraptoran coelurosaurs shared forelimbs with a bony-structure more or less similar to birds’ wings, and most had true vaned feathers instead of simple down-like protofeathers and plumaceous feathers seen in non-maniraptoran coelurosaurs. All dinosaurs listed in this folder are maniraptors, except for ornithomimosaurs - ironically, they have been considered THE dinobirds for almost a century[[hottip:*:To be fair, Ornithomimosauria and Maniraptora together form the group Maniraptoriformes]] – and some “Liaoning coelurosaurs”, which actually should be placed in the “Other Small Theropods” section, but are here for convenience. For true birds and more primitive small theropods, read the following two pages.

* RaptorAttack exaustively talks about dromaeosaurids. We’ll talk more about their namesake ''Dromaeosaurus'', and other non-stock relatives. The very first discovered dromaeosaurid (1920s), ''Dromaeosaurus'' has an unexpectedly generic meaning: just “running lizard”. This because its sickle claws were missing in its original skeleton, and scientists believed it was a generic type of small theropod. The image of a [[HookHand hook-footed]] dinosaur came to light only after the description of ''Deinonychus'' in the sixties. The same size of ''[[StockDinosaurs Velociraptor]]'' but with a shorter head and stronger jaws and teeth, ''Dromaeosaurus'' is less-frequently portrayed than the PowerTrio made of ''Utahraptor'', ''Velociraptor'', and ''Deinonychus''. Despite this, ''Dromaeosaurus'' appears regularly in dino-books and has also made some apparitions in TV documentaries. If you see a dromeosaurid interacting with TyrannosaurusRex or ''Triceratops'' in Late Cretaceous North America, it would be ''Dromaeosaurus'' [[hottip: *:To be correct, however, ''Dromaeosaurus'' lived some million years before the end of the Cretaceous in which ''T. rex'' and ''Triceratops'' lived, but some fragmentary remains might suggest it reached even the last bit of the Mesozoic.]] - unless the writers DidNotDoTheResearch or TheyJustDidntCare: some docus have shown ''Deinonychus'' in this role. WalkingWithDinosaurs dealed with the problem in a bizarre way: here, the dromeosaurids are officially ''Dromaeosaurus''… but ''have the shape of Deinonychus''es. Actually, every dromeosaurid in the original series was a ''Deinonychus'', ''Utahraptor''s included - which, even though their name clearly means “Utah thief”, were portrayed [[MisplacedWildlife living in Europe]] [[TheyJustDidntCare for some reason]]. And to make the “utahraptors” and the “dromeosauruses” distinguishable, they show up [[PaletteSwap with a different coloration]]. In this show, ''Utahraptor''s are also portrayed in the way dromeosaurids were once represented in paleo-art: naked-skinned, [[PantheraAwesome colored like big cats]], chasing an iguanodont in pack, jumping above it using their sickle-claws as spurs, and eventually killing it with (a quite exagerrated) ease. Many dino-books have made this thing UpToEleven with ''Dromaeosaurus'', depicting scenes in which these turkey-sized predators chase in packs ''adult Edmontosauruses and Triceratopses 500 times heavier'', and ''[[BeyondTheImpossible disemboweling them with their sickle-claws]]''. Now ScienceMarchesOn suggests that ''Dromaeosaurus'' and the other “raptors” hunted small prey and only ate the carcasses of the giant herbivores. But stop now. ''Dromaeosaurus'', ''Velociraptor'', ''Deinonychus'' and ''Utahraptor'', together with some other genera, used to make THE dromaeosaurids before the JurassicPark times and also few years later (middle 1990s). We now know they actually ''[[ScienceMarchesOn do not match ]]'' [[SmallTaxonomyPools the great variety within their family]]. Expecially since the first 2000s, many new dromaeosaur species have been discovered, most of them [[SureWhyNot have received the suffix raptor]]. Examples are the North-American ''Bambiraptor'' (so called because its skeleton [[Disney/{{Bambi}} was from a juvenile]]); the European ''Pyroraptor''; and the South American, short-armed ''Austroraptor''. One exception is ''Achillobator'', which lived in Late Cretaceous Mongolia and, with its 6 m long body, was only slightly smaller than ''Utahraptor'' from [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Utah]]. These were all ground-dwelling kinds with a running-plan like the traditionally-intended “raptors”. But other “new” dromeosaurids have revealed to be smaller, more specialized animals often with some tree-climbing adaptations. Because of their apparently unraptor-like nature, some of them were not even initially thought to be dromaeosaurs: this explains why they haven’t got the suffix –raptor. The tiny ''Rahonavis'' from Madagascar was initially thought a sort of ''bird''. The same about ''Unenlagia'', the first dromaeosaurid discovered in South America. Another unraptor-looking dromaeosaur found in 2000 (in spite of being a climbing kind it ends in –raptor nonetheless), is now one of the most portrayed bird-like dinosaurs: obviously, we’re talking about ''Microraptor''. See also the “Liaoning Coelurosaurs” entry below.

* Many dinosaurs have “-saurus” at the end, but some examples have this reversed: the hadrosaur ''Saurolophus'', the ankylosaur ''Sauropelta'', and this one as well: ''Saurornithoides'' (“bird-like lizard”). One of the several ''[[StockDinosaurs Troodon]]'' relatives found in Asia, ''Saurornithoides'' shared the same Late Cretaceous habitat with two iconic similar-sized theropods, ''[[StockDinosaurs Velociraptor]]'' and ''[[StockDinosaurs Oviraptor]]''. These three maniraptorans were discovered in the American expedition in Mongolia led by Andrews in the 1920s. Like ''Velociraptor'', ''Saurornithoides'' was considered a “generic coelurosaur” until the 1970s, when it and ''Troodon'' (still called “Stenonychosaurus”) were put in their own family, the "saurornithoidids" (now called “troodontids”). Since the 1990s, the Troodontid family has acquired several new relatives, usually Cretaceous: some are cited below in the “Liaoning Coelurosaurs” section. Traditionally, ''Troodon'' and ''Saurornithoides'' have been depicted as cunning nocturnal hunters which used their large, forward-pointing eyes usually depicted with cat-like or ''even [[AnimalEyes gecko-like]]'' pupils, as well as and their great intelligence to catch small mammals, grasping them with their three-fingered hands weaponed with curved claws and opposable thumbs. More realistically, their eyes were bird-like with round pupils, their hands were not so prehensile, and their great smartness is debatable (see RaptorAttack). Furthermore, according to recent research, at least ''Troodon'' was more probably omnivorous or even ''herbivorous'' (a bit like ornithomimids), because its teeth were tiny and not-so-sharp, resembling those of plant-eating dinos. However, ''Saurornithoides'', having slightly larger head and teeth than ''Troodon'', was more ''Velociraptor''-like than the latter was, and maybe it really corresponded to the former portrait of a specialized hunter. The similar-named, similar-sized and similar-looking ''Saurornitholestes'' was not a troodontid but one of the few dromaeosaurids known before ''JurassicPark'' (that's why it has not the suffix -raptor). Its name is a {{Portmanteau}} from ''Saurornithoides'' and ''Ornitholestes''). ''Saurornitholestes'' lived in Late Cretaceous North America together with ''Dromaeosaurus'', and even though has left much more fossil material, it has not received the same level of attention in media.

* Which is the most iconic ornithomimid in pop-consciousness? Well, depends on age and location. The last-generation dino-fans would respond you ''[[JurassicPark Gallimimus]]''; the long-standing ones have more chances to say ''[[StockDinosaurs Ornithomimus]]''… at least, if they’re from EagleLand. Indeed, in some other countries, this role has always been ruled by a third animal, ''[[RuleOfThree Struthiomimus]]''. Most ornithomimids have bird-related prefixes and the suffix –mimus in their name. ''Ornithomimus'' simply means “bird-mimic”, ''Gallimimus'' “rooster-mimic” (even though it hardly resembles one…). While ''Struthiomimus'' means "ostrich-mimic" - maybe the most apt name, corresponding with the traditional nickname of the group, “Ostrich-mimic dinosaurs”. ''Struthiomimus'' lived in Late Cretaceous North America like ''Ornithomimus'', was the same size, and the two were so similar each other, they were once believed one and the same. However, ''Struthiomimus'' had stronger forelimbs and claws than ''Ornithomimus'', and was definitively recognized distinct in the 1970s. A third ornithomimid was described in the same years in North America, with a name that makes a sort of tongue twister: ''Dromiceiomimus'', “emu-mimic” [[hottip:* : ''Dromiceius novaehollandiae'' was the former scientific name of the emu; [[ScienceMarchesOn now it's]] ''Dromaius novaehollandiae'', but its meaning is in both cases “runner of the New Holland” (the old name of Australia)]]. This one was also virtually identical to its neighbors, only with wider eyes and longer legs, and was also cited as the “fastest-running dinosaur”. Since the 2000s this animal [[ScienceMarchesOn is considered a new species of the genus]] ''[[ScienceMarchesOn Ornithomimus]]'', and has disappeared in the official dinosaur list. Most ornithomimosaurs, however, have been found in Asia: other than the gigantic ''Gallimimus'' and the [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter even more gigantic]] ''Deinocheirus'' (see at the bottom of the page), we can mention ''Archaeornithomimus'' (“ancient ''Ornithomimus''”) and ''Garudimimus'' “[[HinduMythology Garuda]]-mimic”, both archaic yet already toothless animals. But even more basal ornithomimosaurs still retained small teeth: ''Pelecanimimus'' (“pelican mimic”, because its skeleton was discovered with the print of a pelican-like gular pouch) was from Early Cretaceous Spain. Strangely, ornithomimids are one of the few coelurosaurian groups which has no left any species in the famous Liaoning sites which has preserved the “feathered dinosaur fossils”; so, we don’t know what kind of cover they had. Being more primitive than deinonychosaurs and oviraptorosaurs, an only-down-feather covering is the most likely; but this has still to appear in Fictionland.

* ''[[StockDinosaurs Oviraptor]]'' had many relatives. Most of them have been found since the 1990s in Cretaceous Asia, but one is known in North America since the 1910s: ''Chirostenotes'', still today one of the very few North-American oviraptorosaurs. Despite this “privileged” position, ''Chirostenotes'' remains a rather obscure dinosaur, and has had a convoluted ScienceMarchesOn story. Since its first skeleton lacked the skull, was initially classified a “generic toothed coelurosaur”. Its toothless skull was found in 1940, but was named ''Caenagnathus'' and believed a bird. In the 1980s, scientists decided that ''Caenagnathus'' and ''Chirostenotes'' were one and the same, and “'Caenagnathus'” fell in disuse, having been created after the other name. But in recent years, someone has again put these genera distinct. Since the skull showed only a small relief on the nose, ''Chirostenotes'' was shown almost-crestless in old portraits; but the skull was incomplete, and now is thought it had a large crest similar to ''Citipati'': that is, the animal which people usually think when they think “Oviraptor”. Indeed, most alleged “Oviraptor” remains have then reclassified in other genera: among these the famous “dinosaur on its nest” found in the 1990s, which contributed to debunk the classic “egg.robbing specialist” reputation as well. As a whole, oviraptorosaurs were quite similar each other, but their skull ornamentation was more variable, and only the most evolved species were toothless and had the well-known cassowary-like crest. The oviraptorosaurs' way of life still remains an enigma: today most scientists think they were omnivorous animals which eat berries as well as insects (flowering plants were already diverse in the Cretaceous); this however doesn't exclude that they occasionally ate some unattended eggs if they got the chance: their short strong jaws and agile hand are well-suited for this, after all – and many modern mammalian carnivores, though mainly [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin carnivorous]], also eat eggs if they’ve the chance. Some other primitive oviraptorosaurs are listed below: among them, several are known from feathered fossils from Liaoning.

* When the Great Feather Adventure did begin? In 1980, in the Mongolian Gobi Desert, the same place in which ''Oviraptor'' and ''Velociraptor'' were first discovered. In that year, a new kind of Late Cretaceous “coelurosaur” was described from a partial skeleton, which astonished the scientist who found it. He chose to name his find ''Avimimus'' - “bird mimic”, the same as "Ornithomimus", only with a Latin prefix instead of Greek. Despite this, ''Avimimus'' was not an ornithomimid, but an only 5 ft long late-surviving basal oviraptorosaur. Nothing special per-se… except for one thing: it was the ''very first'' dinosaur whose skeleton showed some evidence of feathers. Not prints on the rock however, only a crest on its arm-bones that resembled that of modern birds. For about 15 years since then, ''Avimimus'' has been the ''only'' non-avian dinosaur regularly portrayed with feathers – often in an incorrect way: certain depictions showed it as a short-winged ''Archaeopteryx'' with the same head-shape of the latter filled with toothed jaws, and splayed forelimbs like it’s taking off. It actually had a typical oviraptorian short head and short arms, so it couldn’t make any take-off . However, it should be noted that ''Avimimus'' lacked any oviraptorian crest, and also had serrations in its beak which could have worked as teeth. Since the end of the 1990s, more and more new feathered dinosaurs fossils were found in China, making ''Avimimus'' ‘s relevance mainly historical at this point.

* The first unequivocal non-avian dinosaur fossils with actual feathers preserved came to light in the second half of the 1990s in Liaoning (province of China). They are extraordinarily well-preserved, more than almost every other dinosaur around the world; they are always small-sized (the biggest was only 8 ft long); they come mostly from the Early Cretaceous unlike ''Avimimus''; and as a whole, they represent almost all the main coelurosaur subgroups, giving a sort of snapshot of the coelurosaurian fauna of the time. More than 20 genera have been described so far, and still others could join them in the next years: we’ll mention only some examples. ''Sinosauropteryx'' (“Chinese feathered lizard”)was the first discovered (1996); a compsognathid, it was the very first non-avian dinosaur to have shown prints of feathers; being it a non-maniraptoran coelurosaur, these were still down-like things, not modern-style feathers. The very first Liaoning coelurosaurs discovered with vaned feathers in 1997 and 1998 were much closer to birds, ''Protarchaeopteryx'' (“First Archaeopteryx”) and ''Caudipteryx'', (“feathered tail”) both basal oviraptorosaurs similar to ''Avimimus'' but only 2-3 ft long and with teeth; they had pennaceous feathers on its forearms and tail which were homologous with those of the famous ''[[StockDinosaurs Archaeopteryx]]'' (not casually, these three dinosaurs have been named with the suffix -pteryx). However, the wing-feathers of ''Caudipteryx'' and ''Protarchaeopteryx''were short and symmetrical unlike those of true birds, and totally unsuitable for flight. Soon after, the list of feathered dinosaur fossils increased drammatically each year. The herbivorous ''Beipiaosaurus'' is perhaps the most specialized among them, being a small therizinosaur (see at the bottom of the page) with a down-like covering and some thin feathers on its forearm. In 2004, ''even a feathered tyrannosauroid'' was discovered: ''Dilong'', a slender coelurosaur with a little external resemblance with a ''T. rex'', and covered only by down-like feathers. Other Liaoning coelurosaurs showed up in the third episode "Dino-Birds" of the miniseries ''[[WalkingWithDinosaurs Prehistoric Park]]''. The chosen ones were: the buck-toothed oviraptorosaur ''Incisivosaurus'' because of its [[RuleOfFunny funny look]], the troodontid ''Mei'', which is now “the shortest-named dino” along with the alvarezsaurid ''Kol'' (the former record-holders were the Australian ankylosaur ''Minmi'' and the oviraptorosaur ''Khaan''), and, naturally, the ever-present ''Microraptor'' (see below). [[hottip: *: Note, however, that fossils of ''Incisivosaurus'' and ''Mei'' have not yet been found preserving soft tissues, unlike the other dinosaurs listed here. Nonetheless, they, being maniraptors, almost certainly had feathers. Also, ''Microraptor'' is in fact known from a [[AnachronismStew younger formation]] than the other dinosaurs mentioned here.]] In “Dino-Birds”, Nigel Marven makes a TimeTravel towards the Cretaceous China to save some ''Microraptor''s from extinction; before ending the mission, he encounters several ''Mei'' (called with their whole scientific name: ''Mei long'') apparently sleeping in the same bird-like position in which the type specimen was found fossilized (they were actually dead), while the other ''Mei long'' act as the “danger of the forest”, and to fit better their role, are [[RuleOfCool oversized and without any feathers]]. Returning to RealLife, the most extraordinary Liaoning discovery has come in 2009 from Jurassic rocks: ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchiornis Anchiornis]]'' (literally “near bird”). This pigeon-sized troodontid (once the smallest non-avian dinosaur known, but now usurped of this record by a fragmentary tiny indeterminate maniraptor from Britain) has amazingly, preserved not only its whole plumage, but ''even the original colors''. Since colors have almost never preserved in vertebrate fossil record, it’s easy to understand the extraordinarity of such a discovery. Even the aforementioned ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinosauropteryx#Colouration Sinosauropteryx]]'' has left some traces of color as well, as probably do other feathered dinosaur fossils such as the basal bird ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeOtherExtinctCreatures Confuciusornis]]'' and the dromaeosaurid ''Sinornithosaurus''. Still, ''Anchiornis'' remains the most well-preserved, and it is the only non-avian dinosaur whose precise appearence is known with a reasonable degree od sureness. Yes, because fossilization processes often change the original patterns of the alive animals, and the real colors of ''Anchiornis'' could have faded or even farily changed in 160 million years. And the exact appearance of dinosaurian [[EyesNeverLie eyes]] would never be known exactly. Even though bird-like theropods did almost surely have very bird-like expressions, not snake-like as shown by many popular portraits [[DidNotDoTheResearch even today]].

* Discovered in 2000, ''Microraptor'' is another Liaoning coelurosaur, named “small thief” because was a dromaeosaurid. It was a find that strongly surprised not only paleo-fans but also the whole paleontologist community. And not because it was a feathered dino fossil (such animals were already known from the same site); nor just because it was the smallest non-avian dinosaur known at that point (merely 1.5ft long, but this record is contended now by other non-avian maniraptors). It was its unique body-plan that astonished us all. A ''four-winged dinosaur''! More precisely, its hindlimbs did have a feather-covering incredibly similar to that of its forelimbs, giving it its unbelievable appearence. These wings were the same structure of true birds, with asymmetrical van-like feathers on the forelimbs, asymmetrical also on the hindlimbs, and placed in a fan at the tip of its long tail: in short, very similar to the same kind of plumage of the well-known ''Archaeopteryx'' (which has recently revealed to have itself some remnant large feathers in its legs!) Of course, WildMassGuessing has raised among paleontologists and dino-fans about its way of life. One thing is sure: ''Microraptor'' was a tree-climbing animal, with forelimbs as developed as the hindlimbs, both with robust claws apt to climbing upright tree-trunks. The guessing starts when coping about the way it crossed the air; with true flight like modern birds, or just a simple gliding like modern “flying” squirrels, “flying” fish and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draco_volans “flying” lizards]]? Now many scientists think ''Microraptor'' was actually a flier (although not as great of one as are modern birds): not only, it seemed to be ''even better adapted'' for flight than ''Archaeopteryx''. If true, this would mean that flight evolved ''before'' the apparition of the so-called “first-bird”, because ''Microraptor'' was less close to modern birds than was ''Archaeopteryx''. And since flight was achieved in basal dromaeosaurids, this would mean… yes, ''Velociraptor'' and all other dromaeosaurids descended from ''flying'' ancestors. One scientist did go UpToEleven declairing that ''all'' maniraptorans descended from flying ancestors: this would mean, ''Troodon'', ''Oviraptor'', and even the huge ''Therizinosaurus'' were ancestrally '''[[GiantFlyer creatures of the air]]''', which, like ostriches or rheas, returned to a more ground-level way of life and increased their size. Whatever was in RealLife, ''Microraptor'' became immediately the subject of much interest soon after year 2000, becoming rapidly popular in illustrated books (also because was the considered the smallest dinosaur at the time); it became even more widely-known after being portrayed as the main animal character in the aforementioned ''[[WalkingWithDinosaurs Prehistoric Park]]'' (in which is portrayed in the classic gliding style). Soon after it started to gain attention by the broader pop-cultural world as well, and it could at this point be qualified as a true [[StockDinosaurs Stock Dinosaur]] (even only in the Rarely-Seen section). ''Microraptor'' went also to the point to become victim of a paleontological fake. The tail of one specimen was mixed with the front end of a true bird found in Liaoning, ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeOtherExtinctCreatures Yanornis]]''; the so-created MixAndMatchCritter was published in media as a new kind of bird-dinosaur, “Archaeoraptor”, but this hoax was exposed after qualified scientists studied the specimen.

* RaptorAttack exaustively talks about dromaeosaurids. We’ll talk more about their namesake ''Dromaeosaurus'', and other non-stock relatives. The very first discovered dromaeosaurid (1920s), ''Dromaeosaurus'' has an unexpectedly generic meaning: just “running lizard”. This because its sickle claws were missing in its original skeleton, and scientists believed it was a generic type of small theropod. The image of a [[HookHand hook-footed]] dinosaur came to light only after the description of ''Deinonychus'' in the sixties. The same size of ''[[StockDinosaurs Velociraptor]]'' but with a shorter head and stronger jaws and teeth, ''Dromaeosaurus'' is less-frequently portrayed than the PowerTrio made of ''Utahraptor'', ''Velociraptor'', and ''Deinonychus''. Despite this, ''Dromaeosaurus'' appears regularly in dino-books and has also made some apparitions in TV documentaries. If you see a dromeosaurid interacting with TyrannosaurusRex or ''Triceratops'' in Late Cretaceous North America, it would be ''Dromaeosaurus'' [[hottip: *:To be correct, however, ''Dromaeosaurus'' lived some million years before the end of the Cretaceous in which ''T. rex'' and ''Triceratops'' lived, but some fragmentary remains might suggest it reached even the last bit of the Mesozoic.]] - unless the writers DidNotDoTheResearch or TheyJustDidntCare: some docus have shown ''Deinonychus'' in this role. WalkingWithDinosaurs dealed with the problem in a bizarre way: here, the dromeosaurids are officially ''Dromaeosaurus''… but ''have the shape of Deinonychus''es. Actually, every dromeosaurid in the original series was a ''Deinonychus'', ''Utahraptor''s included - which, even though their name clearly means “Utah thief”, were portrayed [[MisplacedWildlife living in Europe]] [[TheyJustDidntCare for some reason]]. And to make the “utahraptors” and the “dromeosauruses” distinguishable, they show up [[PaletteSwap with a different coloration]]. In this show, ''Utahraptor''s are also portrayed in the way dromeosaurids were once represented in paleo-art: naked-skinned, [[PantheraAwesome colored like big cats]], chasing an iguanodont in pack, jumping above it using their sickle-claws as spurs, and eventually killing it with (a quite exagerrated) ease. Many dino-books have made this thing UpToEleven with ''Dromaeosaurus'', depicting scenes in which these turkey-sized predators chase in packs ''adult Edmontosauruses and Triceratopses 500 times heavier'', and ''[[BeyondTheImpossible disemboweling them with their sickle-claws]]''. Now ScienceMarchesOn suggests that ''Dromaeosaurus'' and the other “raptors” hunted small prey and only ate the carcasses of the giant herbivores. But stop now. ''Dromaeosaurus'', ''Velociraptor'', ''Deinonychus'' and ''Utahraptor'', together with some other genera, used to make THE dromaeosaurids before the JurassicPark times and also few years later (middle 1990s). We now know they actually ''[[ScienceMarchesOn do not match ]]'' [[SmallTaxonomyPools the great variety within their family]]. Expecially since the first 2000s, many new dromaeosaur species have been discovered, most of them [[SureWhyNot have received the suffix raptor]]. Examples are the North-American ''Bambiraptor'' (so called because its skeleton [[{{Bambi}} was from a juvenile]]); the European ''Pyroraptor''; and the South American, short-armed ''Austroraptor''. One exception is ''Achillobator'', which lived in Late Cretaceous Mongolia and, with its 6 m long body, was only slightly smaller than ''Utahraptor'' from [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Utah]]. These were all ground-dwelling kinds with a running-plan like the traditionally-intended “raptors”. But other “new” dromeosaurids have revealed to be smaller, more specialized animals often with some tree-climbing adaptations. Because of their apparently unraptor-like nature, some of them were not even initially thought to be dromaeosaurs: this explains why they haven’t got the suffix –raptor. The tiny ''Rahonavis'' from Madagascar was initially thought a sort of ''bird''. The same about ''Unenlagia'', the first dromaeosaurid discovered in South America. Another unraptor-looking dromaeosaur found in 2000 (in spite of being a climbing kind it ends in –raptor nonetheless), is now one of the most portrayed bird-like dinosaurs: obviously, we’re talking about ''Microraptor''. See also the “Liaoning Coelurosaurs” entry below.

* The first unequivocal non-avian dinosaur fossils with actual feathers preserved came to light in the second half of the 1990s in Liaoning (province of China). They are extraordinarily well-preserved, more than almost every other dinosaur around the world; they are always small-sized (the biggest was only 8 ft long); they come mostly from the Early Cretaceous unlike ''Avimimus''; and as a whole, they represent almost all the main coelurosaur subgroups, giving a sort of snapshot of the coelurosaurian fauna of the time. More than 20 genera have been described so far, and still others could join them in the next years: we’ll mention only some examples. ''Sinosauropteryx'' (“Chinese feathered lizard”)was the first discovered (1996); a large-sized compsognathid, it was the very first non-avian dinosaur to have shown prints of feathers; being it a non-maniraptoran coelurosaur, these were still down-like things, not modern-style feathers. The very first Liaoning coelurosaurs discovered with vaned feathers in 1997 and 1998 were much closer to birds, ''Protarchaeopteryx'' (“First Archaeopteryx”) and ''Caudipteryx'', (“feathered tail”) both basal oviraptorosaurs similar to ''Avimimus'' but only 2-3 ft long and with teeth; they had pennaceous feathers on its forearms and tail which were homologous with those of the famous ''[[StockDinosaurs Archaeopteryx]]'' (not casually, these three dinosaurs have been named with the suffix -pteryx). However, the wing-feathers of ''Caudipteryx'' and ''Protarchaeopteryx''were short and symmetrical unlike those of true birds, and totally unsuitable for flight. Soon after, the list of feathered dinosaur fossils increased drammatically each year. The herbivorous ''Beipiaosaurus'' is perhaps the most specialized among them, being a small therizinosaur (see at the bottom of the page) with a down-like covering and some thin feathers on its forearm. In 2004, ''even a feathered tyrannosauroid'' was discovered: ''Dilong'', a slender coelurosaur with a little external resemblance with a ''T. rex'', and covered only by down-like feathers. Other Liaoning coelurosaurs showed up in the third episode "Dino-Birds" of the miniseries ''[[WalkingWithDinosaurs Prehistoric Park]]''. The chosen ones were: the buck-toothed oviraptorosaur ''Incisivosaurus'' because of its [[RuleOfFunny funny look]], the troodontid ''Mei'', which is now “the shortest-named dino” along with the alvarezsaurid ''Kol'' (the former record-holders were the Australian ankylosaur ''Minmi'' and the oviraptorosaur ''Khaan''), and, naturally, the ever-present ''Microraptor'' (see below). [[hottip: *: Note, however, that fossils of ''Incisivosaurus'' and ''Mei'' have not yet been found preserving soft tissues, unlike the other dinosaurs listed here. Nonetheless, they, being maniraptors, almost certainly had feathers. Also, ''Microraptor'' is in fact known from a [[AnachronismStew younger formation]] than the other dinosaurs mentioned here.]] In “Dino-Birds”, Nigel Marven makes a TimeTravel towards the Cretaceous China to save some ''Microraptor''s from extinction; before ending the mission, he encounters several ''Mei'' (called with their whole scientific name: ''Mei long'') apparently sleeping in the same bird-like position in which the type specimen was found fossilized (they were actually dead), while the other ''Mei long'' act as the “danger of the forest”, and to fit better their role, are [[RuleOfCool oversized and without any feathers]]. Returning to RealLife, the most extraordinary Liaoning discovery has come in 2009 from Jurassic rocks: ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchiornis Anchiornis]]'' (literally “near bird”). This pigeon-sized troodontid (once the smallest non-avian dinosaur known, but now usurped of this record by a fragmentary tiny indeterminate maniraptor from Britain) has amazingly, preserved not only its whole plumage, but ''even the original colors''. Since colors have almost never preserved in vertebrate fossil record, it’s easy to understand the extraordinarity of such a discovery. Even the aforementioned ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinosauropteryx#Colouration Sinosauropteryx]]'' has left some traces of color as well, as probably do other feathered dinosaur fossils such as the basal bird ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeOtherExtinctCreatures Confuciusornis]]'' and the dromaeosaurid ''Sinornithosaurus''. Still, ''Anchiornis'' remains the most well-preserved, and it is the only non-avian dinosaur whose precise appearence is known with a reasonable degree od sureness. Yes, because fossilization processes often change the original patterns of the alive animals, and the real colors of ''Anchiornis'' could have faded or even farily changed in 160 million years. And the exact appearance of dinosaurian [[EyesNeverLie eyes]] would never be known exactly. Even though bird-like theropods did almost surely have very bird-like expressions, not snake-like as shown by many popular portraits [[DidNotDoTheResearch even today]].

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feathered_dinosaurs Birds are dinosaurs]]: Feathered dinosaurs

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dromaeosaurus The first Raptor Attack]]

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saurornithoides Big-brained and gecko-eyed]]

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Struthiomimus Ostrich-mimic]]

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chirostenotes Egg thieves,]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citipati or what?]]

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avimimus The first known feathered dinosaur]]

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feathered_dinosaurs Birds are dinosaurs]]

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microraptor Four-winged dinosaur]]

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mononykus Dinosaurian anteaters,]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvarezsaurus or what?]]

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinocheirus Up To Eleven version 1]]

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segnosaurus Up To Eleven version 2]]

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therizinosaurus Up To Eleven version 3]]

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigantoraptor Up To Eleven version 4]]

Let’s talk about the popular word [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maniraptora “maniraptors”]]. This term means “robbing hand”, and refers to their large, grasping hands with three fingers each (although some had lost some digits). Maniraptorans make together a natural subgroup of coelurosaurian theropods containing the most bird-related (and bird-looking) non-avian dinosaurs: dromaeosaurids, troodontids, oviraptorosaurs, and other groups. Technically, also ''birds''. All maniraptoran coelurosaurs shared forelimbs with a bony-structure more or less similar to birds’ wings, and most had true vaned feathers instead of simple down-like protofeathers and plumaceous feathers seen in non-maniraptoran coelurosaurs. All dinosaurs listed in this folder are maniraptors, except for ornithomimosaurs - ironically, they have been considered THE dinobirds for almost a century[[hottip:*:To be fair, Ornithomimosauria and Maniraptora togehter form the group Maniraptoriformes]] – and some “Liaoning coelurosaurs”, which actually should be placed in the “Other Small Theropods” section, but are here for convenience. For true birds and more primitive small theropods, read the following two pages.

Let’s talk about the popular word [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maniraptora “maniraptors”]]. This term means “robbing hand”, and refers to their large, grasping hands with three fingers each (although some had lost some digits). Maniraptorans make together a natural subgroup of coelurosaurian theropods containing the most bird-related (and bird-looking) non-avian dinosaurs: dromaeosaurids, troodontids, oviraptorosaurs, and other groups. Technically, also ''birds''. All maniraptoran coelurosaurs shared forelimbs with a bony-structure more or less similar to birds’ wings, and most had true vaned feathers instead of simple down-like protofeathers and plumaceous feathers seen in non-maniraptoran coelurosaurs. All dinosaurs listed in this folder are maniraptors, except for ornithomimosaurs - ironically, they have been considered THE dinobirds for almost a century – and some “Liaoning coelurosaurs”, which actually should be placed in the “Other Small Theropods” section, but are here for convenience. For true birds and more primitive small theropods, read the following two pages.

* Most ''[[StockDinosaurs Oviraptor]]'' relatives were small-sized like their prototype, except one: ''Gigantoraptor''. Discovered in Asia only in 2007, this dinosaur, despite the way it sounds, is ''not'' an overgrown dromaeosaur: its name means “gigantic thief” (an evident reference to “Oviraptor"). ''Gigantoraptor'' grew up to 25ft in length, almost as big as the neighboring tyrannosaur ''Tarbosaurus'', but with the same anatomy of the classic oviraptorosaurs: if the latter’s way of life is hard to imagine, much more the Gigantoraptor’s one. That's cool: three usually-small-sized lineages of non-avian coelurosaurs have at least one oversized member within: ''Deinocheirus'' the giant ornithomimosaur, ''Utahraptor'' the giant dromaeosaur, and ''Gigantoraptor'' [[RuleOfThree the giant oviraptorosaur]]. On the other hand, tyrannosaurs and therizinosaurs include ''many'' gigantic species, while other coelurosaurs, such as the troodonts, have none. But who knows? Maybe one day a “Gigantroodon” would be discovered…

Let’s talk about the popular word [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maniraptora “maniraptors”]]. This term means “robbing hand”, and refers to their large, grasping hands with three fingers each (although some had lost some digits). Maniraptorans make together a natural subgroup of coelurosaurian theropods containing the most bird-related (and bird-looking) non-avian dinosaurs: dromaeosaurids, troodontids, oviraptorosaurs, and other groups. Technically, also ''birds''. All maniraptoran coelurosaurs shared forelimbs with a bony-structure more or less similar to birds’ wings, and most had true vaned feathers instead of simple down-like protofeathers and plumaceous feathers seen in non-maniraptoran coelurosaurs. All dinosaurs listed in this folder are maniraptors, except for ornithomimosaurs - ironically, they have been considered THE dinobirds for almost a century – and some “Liaoning coelurosaurs”, which actually should be placed in the “Other Small Theropods” section, but are here for convenience. For true birds more primitive small theropods, read the following two pages.