Dromaeosauridae
| Dromaeosaurids Temporal range: Middle Jurassic – Late Cretaceous,167–66 Ma |
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| Mounted replica of a Bambiraptor feinbergorum skeleton | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | Saurischia |
| Suborder: | Theropoda |
| Clade: | Eumaniraptora |
| Family: |
†Dromaeosauridae Matthew & Brown, 1922 |
| Type species | |
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†Dromaeosaurus albertensis Matthew & Brown, 1922 |
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| Subgroups | |
| Synonyms | |
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Ornithodesmidae Hooley, 1913 |
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Ornithodesmidae Hooley, 1913
Itemiridae Kurzanov, 1976
Unenlagiidae Agnolin & Novas, 2011
Dromaeosauridae is a family of feathered theropod dinosaurs. They were small to medium-sized feathered carnivores that flourished in the Cretaceous Period. The name Dromaeosauridae means 'running lizards', from Greek dromeus (δρομεῦς) meaning 'runner' and sauros (σαῦρος) meaning 'lizard'. In informal usage they are often called raptors (after Velociraptor), a term popularized by the film Jurassic Park; a few types include the term "raptor" directly in their name and have come to emphasize their supposed bird-like habits.
Dromaeosaurid fossils have been found across the globe in North America, Europe, Africa, Japan, China, Mongolia, Manchuria, Madagascar, Argentina, and Antarctica, with fossilized teeth giving credence to the possibility that they inhabited Australia as well. They first appeared in the mid-Jurassic Period (late Bathonian stage, about 167 million years ago) and survived until the end of the Cretaceous (Maastrichtian stage, 66 ma), existing for over 100 million years, until the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. The presence of dromaeosaurids as early as the Middle Jurassic has been confirmed by the discovery of isolated fossil teeth, though no dromaeosaurid body fossils have been found from this period.
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