Paraves

Paraves is a theropod clade that includes birds, dromaeosaurids, and troodontids. Its members are defined by shared evolutionary ancestry rather than a single distinctive body form.

Theropoda: Theropoda is a dinosaur clade that includes birds and their extinct relatives, typically characterized by bipedalism and meat-eating ancestry. Paraves is nested within this broader dinosaur lineage.
Feather: A feather is a branched keratin structure that grows from the skin of birds and some extinct dinosaurs. Feathers occur across Paraves and predate the origin of powered flight.
Archaeopteryx: Archaeopteryx is a Late Jurassic feathered dinosaur from Germany with both bird-like and non-avian theropod traits. Its anatomy captures an early combination of features associated with birds and other paravians.
Jurassic: The Jurassic is a geological period that lasted from about 201 to 145 million years ago. The earliest widely recognized paravian fossils come from the Jurassic.
Oviraptorosauria: Oviraptorosauria is a group of feathered theropod dinosaurs closely related to, but outside, Paraves. Oviraptorosaurs share many bird-like traits while lying outside the paravian clade.
Avialae: Avialae is the theropod group containing birds and their closest extinct relatives. This branch of Paraves includes modern birds and early bird relatives.
Pennaceous feather: A pennaceous feather has a central shaft and interlocking barbs that form a relatively firm vane. These feathers contributed to the aerodynamic surfaces of many paravians.
Microraptor: Microraptor is a small dromaeosaurid dinosaur with long feathers on both its forelimbs and hindlimbs. Its four feathered limbs reveal an unusual paravian body plan.
Tiaojishan Formation: The Tiaojishan Formation is a Middle to Late Jurassic fossil-bearing geological unit in northeastern China. Its fossils preserve several early feathered dinosaurs relevant to paravian origins.
Ornithomimosauria: Ornithomimosauria is a group of mostly toothless, long-legged theropod dinosaurs known as ostrich-mimics. These bird-like theropods are outside Paraves, illustrating that similar traits evolved elsewhere.

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