Tyrannoraptora

Tyrannoraptora Fossil Record: Late Cretaceous, 170-65.5 million years ago
Biologic classification
Superorder:	Dinosauria
Order:	Saurischia
Suborder:	Theropoda
Unranked:	Tyrannoraptora

Tyrannoraptora (pronunciation: Tyrannoraptora) is an unranked familia (family) of tetanurine theropod dinosaurs. The first dinosaurs to originate from this line were the compsognathids and the tyrannosauroids. Tyrannoraptora was coined by Paul Sereno in 1999 for the connection between tyrannosauroids (tyranno = "tyrant" [a referece for the tyrannosauroids]) and deinonychosaurs (raptor = "thief", "plunderer" or "grabber").

Classification

This group excludes aves so any animal more related to Tyrannosaurus rex and Deinonychus antirrhopus than to Passer domesticus (the modern pigeon) is a tyrannoraptor. Any animal more related to Passer domesticus than to Allosaurus fragilis is a coelurosaur.

According to Sereno's definition, Tyrannosauroidea, Oviraptorosauria and Deinonychosauria together all form the group.

Taxonomy

• TYRANNORAPTORA
  • †Tyrannosauroidea
  • †Tyrannosauridae
• †Albertosaurinae
• †Tyrannosaurinae
  • Maniraptora
    • †Therizinosauria
  • †Alvarezsauridae
    • • †Oviraptorosauria
    • †Deinonychosauria

A cladogram of Theropoda, the red arrow points to the phylogenetic position of Tyrannoraptora