A Main Character

the microraptor is a small theropod dinosuar in the jurassic. The microraptor can glide from tree to tree to avoid predtaors like velocciraptor. microraptors are carnivors the eat small mammals and lizzeds sadly microraptor went exint.

Microraptorians were a group of basal dromaeosaurids (popularly known as 'raptors') with slender proportions and long limbs. With the exception of *Hesperonychus* from the late Cretaceous of North America, all microraptorians have been found in the Yixian and Jifuotang Formations of Liaoning county, China, hence why microraptorians are sometimes referred to as "Liaoning dromaeosaurs". These formations (collectively known as the Jehol group) have been dated to the early Cretaceous and at that time would have been part of a temperate wetland ecosystem threatened by frequent volcanic eruptions. Like other dromaeosaurids, microraptorians were carnivores with relatively large, serrated teeth and an hyper-extendable second toe equipped with a curved claw.

### Size and proportions

A life restoration of *Changyuraptor*, a large "four-winged" microraptorine

Most microraptorians were small dinosaurs, with taxa like *Microraptor* and especially *Zhongjianosaurus* being among the smallest non-avian dinosaurs known. However, some microraptorians, such as *Tianyuraptor* and *Changyuraptor*, were larger and similar to other dromaeosaurids in size. Many microraptorians also had long and robust arms and legs, in contrast to the stockier eudromaeosaurs, although long arms are not universal to the group since the basal microraptorian *Tianyuraptor* had unusually short arms by dromaeosaurid standards. Considering this, it is likely that the small size and long wings of some microraptorians are an example of convergent evolution with other small paravians and early birds such as *Anchiornis* and *Archaeopteryx*.

### Feathers

The fossilization conditions of the Jehol group are very accommodating to the preservation of soft structures in fossils, and as a result many microraptorians have been preserved with a covering of feathers. Not only have long, advanced feathers been preserved on the arms and tails of many specimens, but a few species even have long feathers on their legs. This condition has also been seen in other paravians such as *Anchiornis*, and has caused these kinds of dinosaurs to be labelled as "four-winged dinosaurs". The largest known "four-winged" dinosaur, *Changyuraptor,* is a microraptorian. It is possible that some microraptorians such as *Microraptor* were able to use these wings to glide or take off from the ground.

### Characteristic features

Microraptorines can be distinguished from other dromaeosaurids due to the following features:

* A maxilla laterally sculpted by small pits.
* A very short manual phalanx III-2.
* A shortened first digit of the hand.
* A splatulate (rounded) pubic symphysis.
* A metatarsal III with a pinched proximal end.
* A slender metatarsal II.

In addition, several features are present in microraptorines with the exception of *Tianyuraptor*, which is believed to be a basal member of the clade:

* A large oval fenestra in the coracoid.
* Significantly shortened penultimate manual phalanges.
* The posterior end of the ilium extending ventral to the ischial peduncle.
* Lateral projections halfway down the pubis.
* A strongly anteriorly curved pubic shaft.

## Classification

Microraptoria is usually classified as a clade of dromaeosaurids. Senter and colleagues expressly coined the name without the subfamily suffix *-inae* to avoid perceived issues with erecting a traditional family-group taxon, should the group be found to lie outside Dromaeosauridae proper. Sereno offered a revised definition of the sub-group containing *Microraptor* to ensure that it would fall within Dromaeosauridae, and erected the subfamily Microraptorinae, attributing it to Senter *et al.*, though this usage has only appeared on his online TaxonSearch database and has not been formally published.

The cladogram below follows a 2012 analysis by paleontologists Phil Senter, James I. Kirkland, Donald D. DeBlieux, Scott Madsen and Natalie Toth.

## See also[edit]

* Timeline of dromaeosaurid research
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