Megaraptora
| Megaraptorans Temporal range: Early Cretaceous - Late Cretaceous, 128–70Ma | |
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| Reconstructed skeleton of Megaraptor | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Superfamily: | †Tyrannosauroidea |
| Clade: | †Megaraptora Benson, Carrano & Brusatte, 2010 |
| Subgroups | |
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Megaraptora is a group of large carnivorous theropod dinosaurs with controversial relationships. Phylogenetic studies conducted by Benson, Carrano and Brusatte (2010) and Carrano, Benson and Sampson (2012) recovered the group as a branch of the allosauroids (specifically within the family Neovenatoridae), part of a large group of carnosaurs that also includes the sinraptorids, carcharodontosaurids, and allosaurids. This would make megaraptorans the last surviving allosauroids; at least one megaraptoran, Orkoraptor, lived near the end of the Mesozoic era, dating to the early Maastrichtian stage of the latest Cretaceous period, about 70 million years ago.[1][2] On the other hand, Novas et al. (2012), while confirming that Neovenator was closely related to carcharodontosaurids, simultaneously found Megaraptor and related genera to be coelurosaurs closely related to tyrannosaurids.[3]
Classification
The cladogram presented here follows the 2010 analysis by Benson, Carrano and Brusatte.[1] Another study published later in 2010 also found the Australian theropod Rapator to be a megaraptoran extremely similar to Australovenator.[4]
| Neovenatoridae |
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References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Benson, R.B.J.; Carrano, M.T; Brusatte, S.L. (2010). "A new clade of archaic large-bodied predatory dinosaurs (Theropoda: Allosauroidea) that survived to the latest Mesozoic". Naturwissenschaften 97 (1): 71–78. Bibcode:2010NW.....97...71B. doi:10.1007/s00114-009-0614-x. PMID 19826771.
- ↑ Matthew T. Carrano, Roger B. J. Benson and Scott D. Sampson (2012). "The phylogeny of Tetanurae (Dinosauria: Theropoda)". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 10 (2): 211–300. doi:10.1080/14772019.2011.630927.
- ↑ F. E. Novas, F. L. Agnolín, M. D. Ezcurra, J. I. Canale, J. D. Porfiri (2012). "Megaraptorans as members of an unexpected evolutionary radiation of tyrant-reptiles in Gondwana". Ameghiniana 49 (Suppl.): R33.
- ↑ Agnolin, Ezcurra; Pais; Salisbury (2010). "A reappraisal of the Cretaceous non-avian dinosaur faunas from Australia and New Zealand: Evidence for their Gondwanan affinities". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 8 (2): 257–300. doi:10.1080/14772011003594870.
- ↑ Zanno, L. E.; Makovicky, P. J. (2013). "Neovenatorid theropods are apex predators in the Late Cretaceous of North America". Nature Communications 4. doi:10.1038/ncomms3827.