Paraves
Sign in to savethumb|upright|Birds, members of the paraves, are the only living dinosaurs. Paraves are a widespread group of theropod dinosaurs that originated in the Middle Jurassic period. In addition to the extinct dromaeosaurids, troodontids, anchiornithids, and possibly the scansoriopterygids, the group also contains the avialans, which include diverse extinct taxa as well as the over 11,000 species of living birds.
Article
10 sectionsContents
- Description
- Wings
- Feet and sickle claw
- Dichotomy in body sizes
- Evolution
- Relationships
- Origin and early evolution
- See also
- References
- External links
thumb|upright|Birds, members of the paraves, are the only living dinosaurs. Paraves are a widespread group of theropod dinosaurs that originated in the Middle Jurassic period. In addition to the extinct dromaeosaurids, troodontids, anchiornithids, and possibly the scansoriopterygids, the group also contains the avialans, which include diverse extinct taxa as well as the over 11,000 species of living birds.
Basal members of Paraves are well known for the possession of an enlarged claw on the second digit of the foot, which was held off the ground when walking in some species. A number of differing scientific interpretations of the relationships between paravian taxa exist. New fossil discoveries and analyses make the classification of Paraves an active subject of research.