Maniraptora

Maniraptorans; Temporal range: ; Middle Jurassic–Present, Possible Early Jurassic record
	Collage of six maniraptorans. From top left to right: Deinonychus, Archaeopteryx, Patagonykus, Anzu, unnamed Alaskan troodontid and Erliansaurus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Clade:	Dinosauria
Clade:	Saurischia
Clade:	Theropoda
Clade:	Maniraptoriformes
Clade:	Maniraptora; Gauthier, 1986
Subgroups
	†Elopteryx; †Fukuivenator; †Juravenator?; †Kakuru; †Migmanychion; †Pedopenna?; †Yaverlandia; †Alvarezsauroidea; †Therizinosauria; Pennaraptora;
Synonyms
	Metornithes Perle et al., 1993;

Maniraptora is a clade of coelurosaurian dinosaurs which includes the birds and the non-avian dinosaurs that were more closely related to them than to Ornithomimus velox. It contains the major subgroups Avialae, Dromaeosauridae, Troodontidae, Oviraptorosauria, and Therizinosauria. Ornitholestes and the Alvarezsauroidea are also often included. Together with the next closest sister group, the Ornithomimosauria, Maniraptora comprises the more inclusive clade Maniraptoriformes. Maniraptorans first appear in the fossil record during the Jurassic Period (see Eshanosaurus), and survive today as living birds.

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