Тheropoda
Sign in to savethumb|alt=montage of four birds|In the modern fauna, theropods are represented by over 11,000 species of birds, which are a group of [[maniraptoran theropods within the clade Avialae.]]
AI overview
Theropoda is a group of dinosaurs that includes all modern birds, which represent over 11,000 living species today. This connection matters because it shows that birds are actually a type of theropod dinosaur that survived to the present day, making theropods one of the most successful animal groups in Earth's history.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- taxon
- Subclass of
- dinosaur
- Parent taxon
- Saurischia
- Image
- Dino bird h.jpg
Show 4 more facts
- P105
- clade
- P1424
- Template:Theropoda
- P523
- Triassic
via Wikidata · CC0
Article
21 sectionsContents
- Biology
- Traits
- Diet and teeth
- Integument (skin, scales and feathers)
- Size
- Growth rates
- Stance and gait
- Nervous system and senses
- Forelimb morphology
- Forelimb movement
- Paleopathology
- Swimming
- Evolutionary history
- Classification
- History of classification
- Major groups
- Relationships
- Footnotes
- See also
- References
- External links
thumb|alt=montage of four birds|In the modern fauna, theropods are represented by over 11,000 species of birds, which are a group of [[maniraptoran theropods within the clade Avialae.]]
Theropoda (; from ancient Greek [wiktionary:θηρίον|, (therion) "wild beast"; wiktionary:πούς|, wiktionary:ποδός| (pous, podos) "foot"]) is one of the three major clades of dinosaur, alongside Ornithischia and Sauropodomorpha. Theropods, both extant and extinct, are characterized by hollow bones and three toes and claws on each limb. They are generally classed as a group of saurischian dinosaurs, placing them closer to sauropodomorphs than to ornithischians. They were ancestrally carnivorous, although a number of theropod groups evolved to become herbivores and omnivores. Members of the subgroup Coelurosauria were most likely all covered with feathers, and it is possible that they were also present in other theropods. In the Jurassic, birds evolved from small specialized coelurosaurian theropods, and are currently represented by about 11,000 living species, making theropods the only group of dinosaurs alive today.