Deinonychus - Classification

Classification

Deinonychus antirrhopus is one of the best-known dromaeosaurid species, and is a close relative of the smaller Velociraptor, found in younger, Late Cretaceous–age rock formations in Central Asia. The clade they form is called Velociraptorinae. The subfamily name Velociraptorinae was first coined by Rinchen Barsbold in 1983 and originally contained the single genus Velociraptor. Later Phil Currie included most of the dromaeosaurids. Two Late Cretaceous genera, Tsaagan from Mongolia and the North American Saurornitholestes, may also be close relatives, but the latter is poorly known and hard to classify. Velociraptor and its allies are regarded as using their claws more than their skulls as killing tools, as opposed to dromaeosaurids like Dromaeosaurus, which have stockier skulls. Together with the troodontids, the dromaeosaurids form the Deinonychosauria clade, which is a sister taxon of aves. Phylogenetically, the Deinonychosauria represent the group of non-avian dinosaurs most closely related to birds.