Morphoraptora

Morphoraptora is a group of saurischian dinosaurs that inhabited the Rhaetian age of the Late Triassic in the southwestern United States of America. All taxa have so far been recovered from the Chinle Formation. Named in 2026, they are currently considered to be the sister clade to the family Herrerasauridae; together, they form Herrerasauria. Before naming and describing the genus Ptychotherates in 2026, researchers placed the members in various positions within Saurischia, with Chindesaurus classified as a herrerasaurid and Daemonosaurus and Tawa as early basal theropods. Diagnostic features that define morphoraptorans include fine serrations on the teeth with pointed apices, the anterior extent of the jugal–quadratojugal joint bifurcation beyond the posterior edge of the dorsal jugal process, hatchet-like shape of the postorbital in dorsal view, and a wide ventral recess of the parabasisphenoid with a centrally located foramen. Overall, members of this clade, along with the herrerasaurids, would have resembled early theropods, with bipedal locomotion and dentition suggesting a faunivorous diet.

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