Kingdom Animalia Clade Dinosauria Suborder Theropoda Rank Subfamily | Phylum Chordata Order Saurischia Higher classification Dromaeosauridae | |
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Clade †Microraptoria
Senter et al., 2004 Similar Dinosaur, Dromaeosauridae, Theropods, Unenlagiinae, Changyuraptor | ||
Microraptoria (Greek, μίκρος, mīkros: "small"; Latin, raptor: "one who seizes") is a clade of paravian theropods known for long feathers on their legs They appeared 125 million years ago in China. Many may have been semi-arboreal gliders. Microraptorians were relatively small; adult specimens of Microraptor range between 77–90 centimetres long (2.53–2.95 ft) and weigh up to 1 kilogram (2.2 lb), making them some of the smallest known dinosaurs.
Classification
Microraptoria is usually classified as clade of dromaeosaurid. Senter and colleagues expressly coined the name without the subfamily suffix -inae to avoid perceived issues with erecting a traditional family-group taxon, should the group be found to lie outside dromaeosauridae proper. Sereno offered a revised definition of the sub-group containing Microraptor to ensure that it would fall within Dromaeosauridae, and erected the subfamily Microraptorinae, attributing it to Senter et al., though this usage has only appeared on his online TaxonSearch database and has not been formally published.
The cladogram below follows a 2012 analysis by paleontologists Phil Senter, James I. Kirkland, Donald D. DeBlieux, Scott Madsen and Natalie Toth.