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Avialae
Sign in to saveAvialae ("bird wings") is a clade containing the only living dinosaurs, the birds, and their closest relatives. It is usually defined as all theropod dinosaurs more closely related to birds (Aves) than to deinonychosaurs, though alternative definitions are occasionally used (see below).
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- taxon
- Subclass of
- dinosaur
- Part of
- evolution of birds
- Parent taxon
- Paraves
- Image
- Male mallard flight - natures pics.jpg
Show 2 more facts
- P2579
- paleontology
via Wikidata · CC0
Article
4 sectionsContents
- Definition
- Differentiation from Aves
- Evolution
- See also
Avialae ("bird wings") is a clade containing the only living dinosaurs, the birds, and their closest relatives. It is usually defined as all theropod dinosaurs more closely related to birds (Aves) than to deinonychosaurs, though alternative definitions are occasionally used (see below).
Archaeopteryx lithographica, from the late Jurassic Period Solnhofen Formation of Germany, is usually considered the earliest known avialan which may have had the capability of powered flight; a minority of studies have suggested that it might have been a deinonychosaur instead. Several older (but non flight-capable) possible avialans are known from the late Jurassic Tiaojishan Formation of China, dated to about 160 million years ago.