Subfamily
Valid Extinct

Sinovenatorinae

Shen et al. 2017

Troodontidae is a clade of bird-like theropod dinosaurs from the Late Jurassic to Late Cretaceous. During most of the 20th century, troodontid fossils were few and incomplete and they have therefore been allied, at various times, with many dinosaurian lineages. More recent fossil discoveries of complete and articulated specimens, have helped to increase understanding about this group. Anatomical studies, particularly studies of the most primitive troodontids, like Sinovenator, demonstrate striking anatomical similarities with Archaeopteryx and primitive dromaeosaurids, and demonstrate that they are relatives comprising a clade called Paraves.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
8
Group
Dinosaures
Carnivore, omnivore Ground dwelling Terrestrial
Sinovenatorinae
click to enlarge
Collection of four troodontids, clockwise from top left: Mei long, unnamed Alaskan troodontid, Jianianhualong tengi, Sinovenator changii. © File:Mei Long.jpg (Bruce McAdam) File:Alaskan_troodont.jpg (bryan... from Taipei, Taiwan) File:Sinovenator-Tianjin Natural History Museum.jpg (Jonathan Chen) File:Jianianhualong tengi holotype fossil.jpg (Xing Xu, Philip Currie, Michael Pittman, Lida Xing · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia
PBDB Wikipedia
Classification
Dinosauria Unranked clade
Theropoda Unranked clade
Neotheropoda Unranked clade
Averostra Unranked clade
Tetanurae Unranked clade
Coelurosauria Unranked clade
Maniraptora Unranked clade
Paraves Unranked clade
Deinonychosauria Infraorder
Troodontidae Family
Sinovenatorinae Subfamily
Fossil sites 8 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇨🇳 China
8
Geological formations
Yixian
7
Tiaojishan
1
Temporal distribution
Barremian (125.77–121.4 Ma)
7
Oxfordian (161.5–154.8 Ma)
1
Images 1
Bibliography
Original description
C. Shen, J. Lü, and S. Liu, M. Kundrát, S. L. Brusatte, H. Gao. 2017. A new troodontid dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Liaoning Province, China. Acta Geologica Sinica (English Edition) 91(3):763-780 DOI ↗
Bibliography (7)
H. Zhang, D. Yu, and Y. Feng, R. Pei, C.-F. Zhou. 2022. A Lujiatun-like dinosaurian assemblage from the Jehol Biota of Ningcheng, Inner Mongolia, Northeast China. Acta Paleontologica Polonica 67(3):617-621 DOI ↗
Y.-L. Yin, R. Pei, and C.-F. Zhou. 2018. Cranial morphology of Sinovenator changii (Theropoda: Troodontidae) on the new material from the Yixian Formation of western Liaoning, China. PeerJ 6:e4977:1-42 DOI ↗
X. Xu, P. Currie, and M. Pittman, L. Xing, Q. Meng, J. Lü, D. Hu, C. Yu. 2017. Mosaic evolution in an asymmetrically feathered troodontid dinosaur with transitional features. Nature Communications 8:14972:1-12 DOI ↗
C. -L. Gao, E. M. Morschauser, and D. J. Varricchio, J. Liu, B. Zhao. 2012. A second soundly sleeping dragon: new anatomical details of the Chinese troodontid Mei long with implications for phylogeny and taphonomy. PLoS ONE 7(9):e45203:1-17 DOI ↗
X. Xu, H. You, and K. Du, F. Han. 2011. An Archaeopteryx-like theropod from China and the origin of Avialae. Nature 475:465-470 DOI ↗
X. Xu and M. A. Norell. 2004. A new troodontid dinosaur from China with avian-like sleeping posture. Nature 431:838-841 DOI ↗
X. Xu, M. A. Norell, and X.-l. Wang, P. J. Makovicky, X.-c. Wu. 2002. A basal troodontid from the Early Cretaceous of China. Nature 415:780-784 DOI ↗