oviraptorosaurs

We know that true feathers were present in oviraptorosaurs, microraptorians (which might be part of Dromaeosauridae: it depends on the phylogeny) and almost certainly troodontids (Jinfengopteryx, a luxuriantly feathered little theropod described last year as an archaeopterygid, is almost certainly a troodontid).

Archive 2006-07-01 Darren Naish 2006

We know that true feathers were present in oviraptorosaurs, microraptorians (which might be part of Dromaeosauridae: it depends on the phylogeny) and almost certainly troodontids (Jinfengopteryx, a luxuriantly feathered little theropod described last year as an archaeopterygid, is almost certainly a troodontid).

The war on parasites: an oviraptorosaur’s eye view Darren Naish 2006

More derived oviraptorosaurs were toothless, but the bony premaxillary margins of their upper jaw were serrated, raising the possibility that the tomium was serrated too.

The war on parasites: an oviraptorosaur’s eye view Darren Naish 2006

More derived oviraptorosaurs were toothless, but the bony premaxillary margins of their upper jaw were serrated, raising the possibility that the tomium was serrated too.

Archive 2006-07-01 Darren Naish 2006

What caught my imagination in particular were his restorations of the amazing diversity of recently named oviraptorosaurs (a black-and-white version depicting this diversity has been published before (Gee & Rey 2003), but it did not include as many taxa).

Archive 2006-02-01 Darren Naish 2006

Hagryphus is a member of the oviraptorosaurs, a group of bird-like feathered dinosaurs with toothless beaks, powerful arms and formidable claws ...

Boing Boing: April 2, 2006 - April 8, 2006 Archives 2006

(incidentally, for more on oviraptorosaurs go to Luis Rey and the new oviraptorosaur panoply).

Archive 2006-07-01 Darren Naish 2006

(incidentally, for more on oviraptorosaurs go to Luis Rey and the new oviraptorosaur panoply).

The war on parasites: an oviraptorosaur’s eye view Darren Naish 2006

Take the feathered turkey-sized short-skulled basal oviraptorosaurs Protarchaeopteryx* and Caudipteryx (if you’ve heard that these animals aren’t oviraptorosaurs but actually flightless birds, ignore it: it’s a theory based on wishful thinking and misinterpretation of morphological evidence).

The war on parasites: an oviraptorosaur’s eye view Darren Naish 2006

The expanding taxonomic sample and diversity of these animals is the exciting area that I’ve covered here, but there’s so much other interesting stuff that could be said about oviraptorosaurs.

Archive 2006-02-01 Darren Naish 2006