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Avialae
Sign in to saveAlso known as Avian dinosaurs, Avialan, Avialans
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).
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- taxon
- Subclass of
- dinosaur
- Part of
- evolution of birds
- Parent taxon
- Paraves
- Image
- Male mallard flight - natures pics.jpg
Show 5 more facts
- taxon name
- Avialae
- topic's main category
- Category:Avialans
- Commons category
- Paraves
- start time
- 155000000-
- studied by
- paleontology
via Wikidata · CC0
~6 min read
Encyclopedic overview
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.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Avialae” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.