Editing Maniraptora (section)

==Classification==
The Maniraptora was originally named by [[Jacques Gauthier]] in 1986, for a [[Phylogenetic nomenclature|branch-based]] [[clade]] defined as all dinosaurs closer to modern birds than to the [[Ornithomimidae|ornithomimids]]. Gauthier noted that this group could be easily characterized by their long forelimbs and hands, which he interpreted as adaptations for grasping (hence the name Maniraptora, which means "hand snatchers" in relation to their 'seizing hands'). In 1994, [[Thomas R. Holtz]] attempted to define the group based on the characteristics of the hand and wrist alone (an ''[[Phylogenetic nomenclature|apomorphy-based]]'' definition), and included the long, thin fingers, bowed, wing-like forearm bones, and half-moon shaped wrist bone as key characters. Most subsequent studies have not followed this definition, however, preferring the earlier branch-based definition.

The branch-based definition usually includes the major groups [[Dromaeosauridae]], [[Troodontidae]], [[Oviraptorosauria]], [[Therizinosauria]], and [[Avialae]].<ref name="zannoetal2009">Zanno, L.E., Gillette, D.D., Albright, L.B., and Titus, A.L. (2009). "A new North American therizinosaurid and the role of herbivory in 'predatory' dinosaur evolution." ''Proceedings of the Royal Society B'', Published online before print July 15, 2009, {{doi|10.1098/rspb.2009.1029}}.</ref> Other taxa often found to be maniraptorans include the [[Alvarezsauroidea|alvarezsaurs]] and ''[[Ornitholestes]]''.<ref name=turneretal2007a/><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Meso |first1=Jorge Gustavo |last2=Pol |first2=Diego |last3=Chiappe |first3=Luis |last4=Qin |first4=Zichuan |last5=Díaz-Martínez |first5=Ignacio |last6=Gianechini |first6=Federico |last7=Apesteguía |first7=Sebastián |last8=Makovicky |first8=Peter J. |last9=Pittman |first9=Michael |title=Body size and evolutionary rate analyses reveal complex evolutionary history of Alvarezsauria |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cla.12600 |journal=Cladistics |date=2024 |language=en |volume=n/a |issue=n/a |doi=10.1111/cla.12600 |issn=1096-0031|pmc=11811816 }}</ref>  Several taxa have been assigned to the Maniraptora more definitively, though their exact placement within the group remains uncertain. These forms include the [[Scansoriopterygidae|scansoriopterygids]], ''[[Pedopenna]]'', and ''[[Yixianosaurus]]''.

In 1993, Perle and colleagues coined the name '''Metornithes''' to include alvarezsaurids and modern birds, which the researchers believed were members of the Avialae. This group was defined as a clade by Luis Chiappe in 1995 as the last common ancestor of ''[[Mononykus]]'' and modern birds, and all its descendants.<ref name=chiappe1995>{{cite journal | last1 = Chiappe | first1 = L.M. | year = 1995 | title = The first 85 million years of avian evolution | journal = Nature | volume = 378 | issue = 6555| pages = 349–355 | doi=10.1038/378349a0| bibcode = 1995Natur.378..349C | s2cid = 4245171 }}</ref>

Pennaraptora (Latin ''penna'' "bird feather" + ''raptor'' "thief", from ''rapere'' "snatch"; a feathered bird-like predator) is a [[clade]] within Maniraptora, defined as the most recent common ancestor of ''[[Oviraptor philoceratops]]'', ''[[Deinonychus antirrhopus]]'', and ''[[Passer domesticus]]'' (the house sparrow), and all descendants thereof, by Foth ''et al.'', 2014.<ref name=foth_archaeopteryx>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1038/nature13467 | title=New specimen of Archaeopteryx provides insights into the evolution of pennaceous feathers | journal=Nature | date=2014 | volume=511 | issue=7507 | pages=79–82 | first1=Christian | last1=Foth | first2=Helmut | last2=Tischlinger | first3=Oliver | last3=Rauhut | pmid=24990749| bibcode=2014Natur.511...79F }}</ref> 

The clade "Aviremigia" was conditionally proposed along with several other [[Synapomorphy and apomorphy|apomorphy]]-based clades relating to [[bird]]s by [[Jacques Gauthier]] and [[Kevin de Queiroz]] in a 2001 paper. Their proposed definition for the group was "the clade stemming from the first [[Panaves|panavian]] with ... [[remiges]] and [[rectrices]], that is, enlarged, stiff-shafted, closed-vaned (= barbules bearing hooked distal pennulae), pennaceous feathers arising from the distal forelimbs and tail".<ref name="gauthier&dequeiroz2001">Gauthier, J. and de Queiroz, K. (2001). "Feathered dinosaurs, flying dinosaurs, crown dinosaurs, and the name 'Aves'". Pp. 7-41 in Gauthier, J. and L.F. Gall (eds.), ''New Perspectives on the Origin and Early Evolution of Birds: Proceedings of the International Symposium in Honor of John H. Ostrom''. New Haven: Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University. {{ISBN|0-912532-57-2}}.</ref> Ancestral morphology relating to pennaceous feathers suggests that basal species of Pennaraptora were capable of scansorial locomotion and gliding, and further evolution of said adaptation within the clade would eventually give rise to the origin of flight in avian species.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sorkin |first=Boris |date=2021-12-02 |title=Scansorial and aerial ability in Scansoriopterygidae and basal Oviraptorosauria |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2020.1855158 |journal=Historical Biology |volume=33 |issue=12 |pages=3202–3214 |doi=10.1080/08912963.2020.1855158 |bibcode=2021HBio...33.3202S |issn=0891-2963|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The following [[cladogram]] follows the results of a phylogenetic study by Cau (2020).<ref>Cau, Andrea. “The body plan of ''Halszkaraptor escuilliei'' (Dinosauria, Theropoda) is not a transitional form along the evolution of dromaeosaurid hypercarnivory.” ''PeerJ'' vol. 8 e8672. 25 Feb. 2020, doi:10.7717/peerj.8672</ref>
{{clade| style=font-size:100%;line-height:80%
|label1='''Maniraptora'''
|1=
{{clade
    |1={{extinct}}[[Alvarezsauroidea]][[File:Patagonykuspuertai.jpg|75px]]
    |2=
  {{clade
      |1={{extinct}}[[Therizinosauridae]][[File:Therizinosaurus Restoration.png|75px]]
      |label2=[[Pennaraptora]]
      |2=
        {{clade
        |1={{extinct}}[[Oviraptorosauria]][[File:Citipati osmolskae Restoration.png|75px]]
        |label2=[[Paraves]]
        |2= 
          {{clade
          |1={{extinct}}[[Dromaeosauridae]] [[File:Dromaeosaurus Restoration.png|75px]]
          |label2=[[Paraves#Averaptora|Averaptora]]
          |2= 
            {{clade
            |1={{extinct}}[[Troodontidae]][[File:Saurornithoides restoration.png|75px]]
            |2=[[Avialae]] [[File:Confuciusornis plumage pattern.jpg|75px]]
            }}
          }}
        }}
      }}
    }}
}}

===Alternative interpretations===
In 2002, Czerkas and Yuan reported that some maniraptoran traits, such as a long, backwards-pointed [[pubis (bone)|pubis]] and short [[Ischium|ischia]] were present in ''Scansoriopteryx'', a scansoriopterygid. The authors considered it to be more primitive than true theropods, and hypothesized that maniraptorans may have branched off from theropods at a very early point, or may even have descended from pre-theropod dinosaurs.<ref name="czerkas2002">Czerkas, S.A., and Yuan, C. (2002). "An arboreal maniraptoran from northeast China." Pp. 63-95 in Czerkas, S.J. (Ed.), ''Feathered Dinosaurs and the Origin of Flight.'' The Dinosaur Museum Journal '''1'''. The Dinosaur Museum, Blanding, U.S.A. [http://www.dinosaur-museum.org/featheredinosaurs/arboreal_maniraptoran.pdf PDF abridged version]</ref> Zhang ''et al.'', in describing the closely related or conspecific specimen ''[[Epidendrosaurus]]'' (now considered a synonym of ''[[Scansoriopteryx]]''), did not report any of the primitive traits mentioned by Czerkas and Yuan, but did find that the shoulder blade of ''Epidendrosaurus'' appeared primitive. Despite this, they placed ''Epidendrosaurus'' firmly within Maniraptora due to a number of synapomorphies.<ref name="zhang2002">Zhang, F., Zhou, Z., Xu, X. & Wang, X. (2002). "A juvenile coelurosaurian theropod from China indicates arboreal habits." ''Naturwissenschaften'', '''89'''(9): 394-398. doi:10.1007 /s00114-002-0353-8.</ref>