Archaeopterygidae

Archaeopterygidae is a group of maniraptoran dinosaurs, known from the latest Jurassic and earliest Cretaceous of Europe. In most current classifications, it contains only the genera ''Archaeopteryx'' and ''Wellnhoferia''. As its name suggests, '' Protarchaeopteryx'' was also once referred to this group, but most paleontologists now consider it an oviraptorosaur. Other referred genera, like ''Jurapteryx'', ''Wellnhoferia'', and " Proornis", are probably synonymous with ''Archaeopteryx'' (the former two) or do not belong into this group (the last). ''Jinfengopteryx'' was originally described as an archaeopterygid, though it was later shown to be a troodontid.Chiappe, L.M. (2007) ''Glorified Dinosaurs: The Origin and Early Evolution of Birds.'' Sydney: UNSW Press. . A few studies have recovered ''Anchiornis'' and ''Xiaotingia'' (usually considered part of a distinct clade, Anchiornithidae) to also be members of the Archaeopterygidae, though most subsequent analyses have failed to arrive at the same result. Uncertainties still exist, however, and it may not be possible to confidently state whether archaeopterygids are more closely related to modern birds or to deinonychosaurs barring new and better specimens of relevant species. Teeth attributable to archaeopterygids are known from the earliest Cretaceous (Berriasian) Cherves-de-Cognac locality and the Angeac-Charente bonebed of France.Ronan Allain, Romain Vullo, Lee Rozada, Jérémy Anquetin, Renaud Bourgeais, et al.
Vertebrate paleobiodiversity of the Early Cretaceous (Berriasian) Angeac-Charente Lagerstätte (southwestern France): implications for continental faunal turnover at the J/K boundary
Geodiversitas, Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle Paris, In press. ffhal-03264773f

Classification

The family Archaeopterygidae is the only family in the order Archaeopterygiformes, which was coined by Max Fürbringer in 1888 to contain Archaeopterygidae and genus ''Archaeopteryx''.Fürbringer, M. (1888) ''Untersuchungen zur Morphologie und Systematik der Voegel'', Amsterdam, van Halkema, p. 1751 A formal phylogenetic definition for Archaeopterygidae was given by Xu and colleagues in 2011: the clade comprising all animals closer to ''Archaeopteryx'' than to the house sparrow or '' Dromaeosaurus''.

The family Dromaeosauridae, traditionally considered to be non-avian dinosaurs, have been included in this group by at least one author, although the group was paraphyletic in that classification, with ''Dromaeosaurus'' and ''Velociraptor'' (including ''Deinonychus'' and '' Saurornitholestes'') being more closely related to modern birds than ''Archaeopteryx'' was. Discoveries of a number of primitive forms have muddied the relationships of early birds, making it possible that ''Velociraptor'' and ''Deinonychus'' could be considered birds as they might have evolved from flying ancestors. Palaeoartist Gregory S. Paul placed dromaeosaurids in Archaeopterygidae for these reasons, though the eventual cladistic definition of Archaeopterygidae explicitly excluded them.Paul, G.S. (1988). ''Predatory Dinosaurs of the World.'' New York: Simon and Schuster.

The family Anchiornithidae has had some of the members or the entirety of the group placed as archaeopterygids in various systematic studies. The cladogram below shows the results of the phylogenetic analysis by Cau (2020).

References

Catalogue of fossil birds

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2087629

Prehistoric avialans
Prehistoric dinosaur families
Tithonian first appearances