Knowra Unenlagiinae Unenlagiinae Unenlagiinae is a clade of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaurs known primarily from fossils found in South America and Antarctica. Its members include some of the southern hemisphere’s best-known small predatory dinosaurs.
Dromaeosauridae : A family of mostly small, feathered theropod dinosaurs that includes forms such as Velociraptor and Deinonychus. Unenlagiinae is traditionally classified within this family of predatory dinosaurs.
Unenlagia : A genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur from Late Cretaceous Argentina. Its discovery established the name and defining South American context of the clade.
Gondwana : The southern supercontinent that included South America, Antarctica, Africa, Australia, and other landmasses. Unenlagiine fossils occur on two landmasses once joined within Gondwana.
Dinosaur phylogeny : The study of evolutionary relationships among dinosaurs, inferred chiefly from shared anatomical traits and fossils. Different analyses can place unenlagiines and their close relatives in different positions.
Theropoda : A dinosaur group that includes living birds and their extinct relatives, including most familiar carnivorous dinosaurs. Unenlagiines belong to the broader theropod lineage.
Buitreraptor : A small, long-snouted unenlagiine theropod from Late Cretaceous Argentina. Its unusually complete remains reveal an distinctive unenlagiine skull and body.
Late Cretaceous : The final epoch of the Cretaceous Period, spanning about 100.5 to 66 million years ago. Many known unenlagiine fossils date to this interval of southern dinosaur evolution.
Theropod classification : The organization of theropod dinosaurs into groups based on inferred evolutionary relationships. Unenlagiinae’s rank and membership depend on competing classification schemes.
Paraves : A group of theropods that includes dromaeosaurids, troodontids, and birds. This broader grouping places dromaeosaurids near the evolutionary origin of birds.
Austroraptor : A large unenlagiine theropod known from Late Cretaceous rocks in Argentina. It demonstrates that unenlagiines included much larger forms than Buitreraptor.
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