Microraptorinae is a subfamily of Dromaeosauridae

Dromaeosauridae

Dromaeosauridae is a family of bird-like 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 meaning 'runner' and sauros meaning 'lizard'...

. Microraptorines were among the most primitive dromaeosaurids. They appeared 125 million years ago in China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. Many may have been semi-arboreal gliders. Microraptorians were relatively small; adult specimens of Microraptor

Microraptor

Microraptor is a genus of small, four-winged dromaeosaurid dinosaurs. Numerous well-preserved fossil specimens have been recovered from Liaoning, China...

range between 77–90 cm (2.5–3 ft)) and weigh up to 1 kilograms (2.2 lb), making them some of the smallest known dinosaurs

Dinosaur size

Size has been one of the most interesting aspects of dinosaur science to the general public. This article lists the largest and smallest dinosaurs from various groups, sorted in order of weight and length....

. The largest, Hesperonychus

Hesperonychus

Hesperonychus was a genus of small, carnivorous dromaeosaurid dinosaur. There is one described species, Hesperonychus elizabethae; the type species was named in honor of the woman who collected it in 1982...

, Graciliraptor

Graciliraptor

Graciliraptor is a genus of theropod dinosaur from the early Cretaceous Period. It is a microraptorine dromaeosaurid....

and Sinornithosaurus

Sinornithosaurus

Sinornithosaurus is a genus of feathered dromaeosaurid dinosaur from the early Cretaceous Period of the Yixian Formation in what is now China. It was the fifth non–avian feathered dinosaur genus discovered by 1999...

, were no more than 1.8 metres long.

Genera

• Graciliraptor
  Graciliraptor
  Graciliraptor is a genus of theropod dinosaur from the early Cretaceous Period. It is a microraptorine dromaeosaurid....
  
  
• Hesperonychus
  Hesperonychus
  Hesperonychus was a genus of small, carnivorous dromaeosaurid dinosaur. There is one described species, Hesperonychus elizabethae; the type species was named in honor of the woman who collected it in 1982...
  
  
• Microraptor
  Microraptor
  Microraptor is a genus of small, four-winged dromaeosaurid dinosaurs. Numerous well-preserved fossil specimens have been recovered from Liaoning, China...
  
  
• Shanag
  Shanag
  Shanag is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous Period of Mongolia.The type species of Shanag is Shanag ashile. It was named and described by Alan Turner, Sunny Hai-Ching Hwang and Mark Norell in 2007. The generic name refers to the black-hatted dancers in the...
  
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• Sinornithosaurus
  Sinornithosaurus
  Sinornithosaurus is a genus of feathered dromaeosaurid dinosaur from the early Cretaceous Period of the Yixian Formation in what is now China. It was the fifth non–avian feathered dinosaur genus discovered by 1999...
  
  
• NGMC 91
  NGMC 91
  NGMC 91, nicknamed “Dave”, is an as-yet unnamed, substantially complete, fossil of a small dromaeosaurid dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Liaoning, China. The specimen is in the collection of the National Geological Museum of China. It was collected in Fanzhangzi quarry, near...
  
  

External links

• 1.http://www.paleodb.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?a=basicTaxonInfo&taxon_no=143267
• 2.http://www.taxonsearch.org/dev/taxon_edit.php?tax_id=483&Action=View
• 3.http://theropoddatabase.blogspot.com/2010/03/article-1311-means-lewisuchinaeidae-is.html