Oviraptorosauria

Avimimus ( ), meaning "bird mimic" (Latin avis = bird + mimus = mimic), is a genus of oviraptorosaurian theropod dinosaur, named for its bird-like characteristics, that lived in the late Cretaceous in what is now Mongolia, during the Maastrichtian.

Caudipteryx (meaning "tail feather") is a genus of small oviraptorosaurian dinosaurs that lived in China during the Early Cretaceous, around 124.6 million years ago. They were feathered and extremely bird-like in their overall appearance, to the point that some paleontologists suggested it was a bird. Two species have been described: C. zoui (the type species), in 1998, and C. dongi, in 2000. Caudipteryx had a stout trunk, long legs, and was probably a swift runner. Its discovery has led to many intensive studies and debate over the relationship between birds and dinosaurs.

Oviraptorosaurs ("egg thief lizards") are a group of feathered bipedal maniraptoran dinosaurs from the Cretaceous Period of what are now Asia and North America. They are distinct for their characteristically short, beaked, parrot-like skulls, with or without bony crests atop the head. They ranged in size from Caudipteryx, which was the size of a turkey, to the 8-meter-long, 1.4-ton Gigantoraptor. The group (along with all maniraptoran dinosaurs) is close to the ancestry of birds. Some researchers such as Maryanska et al (2002) and Osmólska et al. (2004) have proposed that they may represent pr

Protarchaeopteryx (meaning "before Archaeopteryx" although it is from the Cretaceous and Archaeopteryx is from the Jurassic) is a genus of turkey-sized feathered theropod dinosaur from China. Known from the Jianshangou bed of the Yixian Formation, it lived during the early Aptian age of the Early Cretaceous, approximately 124.6 million years ago. It was probably a herbivore or omnivore, although its hands were very similar to those of small carnivorous dinosaurs. It appears to be one of the most basal members of the Oviraptorosauria, closely related to Incisivosaurus, or a taxon slightly

Incisivosaurus ("incisor lizard") is a genus of small, probably herbivorous theropod dinosaurs from the early Cretaceous Period of what is now the People's Republic of China. The first specimen to be described (by Xu et al. in 2002), IVPP V13326, is a skull that was collected from the lowermost levels (the fluvial Lujiatun beds) of the Yixian Formation (dating to the Barremian stage about 126 million years ago) in the Sihetun area, near Beipiao City, in western Liaoning Province. The most significant, and highly unusual, characteristic of this dinosaur is its apparent adaptation to an herbivor

Caudipteridae is an extinct family of oviraptorosaurian dinosaurs known from the Early Cretaceous of China. Found in the Yixian and Jiufotang Formations, the group existed between 125 and 120 million years ago. Distinguishing characteristics of this group have been indicated as including a unique dagger-shaped pygostyle (the bone at the tip of the tail in birds, used to anchor a "fan" of feathers). In 2015, the group was defined as "the most inclusive clade containing Caudipteryx zoui but not Oviraptor philoceratops and Caenagnathus collinsi".

Similicaudipteryx, meaning "similar to Caudipteryx" (which itself means "tail feather"), is a genus of theropod dinosaur of the family Caudipteridae.

Yuanyanglong (meaning "lovebird dragon") is an extinct genus of oviraptorosaurian theropod dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous Miaogou Formation of China. The genus contains a single species, Yuanyanglong bainian, known from two partial skeletons.

Xingtianosaurus is an extinct genus of oviraptorosaurian theropod dinosaur that lived in what is now China during the Early Cretaceous. The type and only species, X. ganqi, was named and described in 2019. It was placed in the Caudipteridae, alongside Caudipteryx and Similicaudipteryx.