Tetanurae

Tetanurae is a clade that includes most theropod dinosaurs, including megalosauroids, allosauroids, and coelurosaurs. Tetanurans are defined as all theropods more closely related to modern birds than to Ceratosaurus and contain the majority of predatory dinosaur diversity. Tetanurae likely diverged from its sister group, Ceratosauria, during the late Triassic. Tetanurae first appeared in the fossil record by the Early Jurassic about 190 mya and by the Middle Jurassic had become globally distributed.

Tetanurae

hibino [1] User:FunkMonk User:ケラトプスユウタ Mike Bowler [2] User:Toter Alter Mann User:Rufus46 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Also called
tetanuran theropodPBDB
Sits inside
AverostraPBDB
Diet
carnivorePBDB, for Theropoda
Life habit
ground dwelling, solitaryPBDB, for Theropoda
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Theropoda
Environment
terrestrialPBDB, for Theropoda

Time the record covers

At least 205 million years on record.

The record covers at least 205.7 Mya to 11.7 ka. No occurrence read is dated outside 237 Mya to 0 Mya.

Middle Triassic — about 0 of 12000 occurrencesLate Triassic — about 6 of 12000 occurrencesLate TriassicEarly Jurassic — about 17 of 12000 occurrencesEarly JurassicMiddle Jurassic — about 85 of 12000 occurrencesLate Jurassic — about 287 of 12000 occurrencesEarly Cretaceous — about 754 of 12000 occurrencesEarly CretaceousLate Cretaceous — about 2199 of 12000 occurrencesLate CretaceousPaleocene — about 74 of 12000 occurrencesEocene — about 428 of 12000 occurrencesEoceneOligocene — about 204 of 12000 occurrencesMiocene — about 974 of 12000 occurrencesPliocene — about 613 of 12000 occurrencesPleistocene — about 4392 of 12000 occurrences242–234 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences234–226 Mya — about 0.4 occurrences226–218 Mya — about 1 occurrence218–210 Mya — about 1 occurrence210–201 Mya — about 3 occurrences201–193 Mya — about 7 occurrences193–185 Mya — about 6 occurrences185–177 Mya — about 3 occurrences177–169 Mya — about 12 occurrences169–161 Mya — about 75 occurrences161–153 Mya — about 54 occurrences153–145 Mya — about 193 occurrences145–137 Mya — about 87 occurrences137–129 Mya — about 59 occurrences129–121 Mya — about 236 occurrences121–113 Mya — about 225 occurrences113–105 Mya — about 125 occurrences105–97 Mya — about 150 occurrences97–89 Mya — about 149 occurrences89–81 Mya — about 345 occurrences81–73 Mya — about 695 occurrences73–64 Mya — about 923 occurrences64–56 Mya — about 65 occurrences56–48 Mya — about 146 occurrences48–40 Mya — about 105 occurrences40–32 Mya — about 212 occurrences32–24 Mya — about 153 occurrences24–16 Mya — about 343 occurrences16–8.1 Mya — about 468 occurrences8.1–0 Mya — about 7157 occurrences205.7 Mya11.7 ka242 Mya0 Mya

12,000+ occurrences of Tetanurae on record. The Paleobiology Database records this as a living group. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

12,000 occurrences read

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. The read hit its cap, so every figure above is a floor and the shares are of the occurrences read. More on what this infers.

Found in

at least 819 formations

Hell Creek — 47.80°N, 106.10°WHell Creek — 47.68°N, 106.43°WHell Creek — 47.54°N, 107.08°WHell Creek — 45.95°N, 103.96°WHell Creek — 46.10°N, 103.30°WHell Creek — 45.98°N, 103.75°WHell Creek — 46.18°N, 103.84°WHell Creek — 46.14°N, 103.80°WHell Creek — 46.41°N, 103.94°WHell Creek — 46.38°N, 103.96°WHell Creek — 46.45°N, 103.02°WHell Creek — 46.46°N, 104.02°WHell Creek — 46.33°N, 103.90°WHell Creek — 45.94°N, 103.95°WHell Creek — 47.52°N, 106.40°WHell Creek — 47.60°N, 107.00°WHell Creek — 45.53°N, 101.63°WHell Creek — 47.62°N, 107.32°WHell Creek — 47.96°N, 106.46°WHell Creek — 47.52°N, 106.98°WHell Creek — 47.57°N, 107.10°WHell Creek — 47.65°N, 106.65°WHell Creek — 47.58°N, 106.30°WHell Creek — 47.55°N, 107.25°WHell Creek — 47.52°N, 107.18°WHell Creek — 47.53°N, 106.92°WHell Creek — 47.07°N, 106.92°WHell Creek — 47.60°N, 107.23°WHell Creek — 47.73°N, 106.50°WHell Creek — 47.65°N, 106.20°WHell Creek — 47.63°N, 106.20°WHell Creek — 47.87°N, 106.18°WHell Creek — 46.90°N, 101.50°WHell Creek — 45.50°N, 104.16°WHell Creek — 47.10°N, 104.66°WHell Creek — 45.65°N, 103.62°WHell Creek — 45.89°N, 104.55°WHell Creek — 45.06°N, 103.45°WHell Creek — 47.61°N, 106.90°WHell Creek — 45.73°N, 104.89°WHell Creek — 45.40°N, 103.65°WHell Creek — 46.41°N, 103.50°WHell Creek — 47.05°N, 107.35°WHell Creek — 45.87°N, 103.79°WHell Creek — 46.33°N, 103.98°WHell Creek — 47.73°N, 106.26°WHell Creek — 45.05°N, 101.97°WHell Creek — 45.23°N, 103.21°WHell Creek — 45.66°N, 105.08°WHell Creek — 45.89°N, 104.55°WDinosaur Park — 50.74°N, 111.53°WDinosaur Park — 50.72°N, 111.56°WDinosaur Park — 50.79°N, 111.60°WDinosaur Park — 50.75°N, 111.48°WDinosaur Park — 49.12°N, 110.47°WDinosaur Park — 50.81°N, 111.33°WDinosaur Park — 50.13°N, 111.69°WDinosaur Park — 50.76°N, 110.02°WDinosaur Park — 50.75°N, 111.40°WDinosaur Park — 51.95°N, 112.93°WDinosaur Park — 49.99°N, 111.42°WDinosaur Park — 51.44°N, 110.39°WDinosaur Park — 51.47°N, 110.39°WDinosaur Park — 52.45°N, 109.17°WDinosaur Park — 50.73°N, 111.30°WDinosaur Park — 49.96°N, 110.27°WDinosaur Park — 49.20°N, 110.37°WDinosaur Park — 49.07°N, 110.45°WDinosaur Park — 48.03°N, 110.24°WDinosaur Park — 50.60°N, 111.62°WDinosaur Park — 52.08°N, 112.98°WDinosaur Park — 50.84°N, 111.79°WMorrison — 41.89°N, 106.04°WMorrison — 42.04°N, 106.39°WMorrison — 42.02°N, 106.05°WMorrison — 43.63°N, 108.20°WMorrison — 40.42°N, 109.21°WMorrison — 35.20°N, 107.13°WMorrison — 34.94°N, 107.13°WMorrison — 35.32°N, 106.94°WMorrison — 38.45°N, 107.40°WMorrison — 41.98°N, 106.14°WMorrison — 38.54°N, 105.22°WMorrison — 41.88°N, 106.08°WMorrison — 39.65°N, 105.19°WMorrison — 39.24°N, 109.00°WMorrison — 38.58°N, 108.40°WMorrison — 44.54°N, 107.78°WMorrison — 44.65°N, 107.82°WMorrison — 38.73°N, 111.27°WMorrison — 42.16°N, 105.91°WMorrison — 36.90°N, 102.83°WMorrison — 40.53°N, 109.39°WMorrison — 36.93°N, 102.97°WMorrison — 41.97°N, 106.29°WMorrison — 39.17°N, 109.25°WMorrison — 38.85°N, 108.48°WMorrison — 45.54°N, 110.62°WMorrison — 39.01°N, 110.37°WMorrison — 44.53°N, 103.83°WMorrison — 44.18°N, 103.34°WMorrison — 39.32°N, 110.69°WMorrison — 40.09°N, 105.94°WMorrison — 38.81°N, 108.32°WMorrison — 40.44°N, 109.30°WMorrison — 41.80°N, 106.59°WMorrison — 39.08°N, 108.65°WMorrison — 44.23°N, 103.38°WMorrison — 34.94°N, 107.60°WMorrison — 40.50°N, 109.17°WMorrison — 43.65°N, 106.78°WMorrison — 44.09°N, 106.78°WMorrison — 38.71°N, 109.74°WMorrison — 38.84°N, 111.15°WMorrison — 44.63°N, 107.81°WMorrison — 44.02°N, 104.24°WMorrison — 39.95°N, 106.56°WMorrison — 40.49°N, 105.21°WMorrison — 35.52°N, 106.82°WMorrison — 39.15°N, 108.77°WMorrison — 42.63°N, 105.44°WMorrison — 35.43°N, 107.83°WMorrison — 35.56°N, 106.92°WMorrison — 44.05°N, 107.46°WMorrison — 40.46°N, 108.39°WMorrison — 38.25°N, 110.81°WMorrison — 37.34°N, 108.75°WMorrison — 45.22°N, 108.83°WMorrison — 44.09°N, 106.87°WMorrison — 37.53°N, 103.68°WMorrison — 39.16°N, 108.73°WMorrison — 36.97°N, 103.39°WSan Diego — 32.80°N, 117.26°WSan Diego — 32.90°N, 117.10°WSan Diego — 32.74°N, 117.17°WSan Diego — 32.71°N, 117.08°WSan Diego — 32.57°N, 117.03°WSan Diego — 32.77°N, 117.20°WSan Diego — 32.76°N, 117.13°WSan Diego — 32.74°N, 117.05°WSan Diego — 32.53°N, 117.05°WOldman — 49.08°N, 110.68°WOldman — 50.75°N, 111.49°WOldman — 49.10°N, 110.94°WOldman — 49.08°N, 110.84°WOldman — 49.16°N, 110.72°WOldman — 50.83°N, 111.32°WOldman — 50.69°N, 111.62°WOldman — 49.28°N, 112.58°WOldman — 50.72°N, 111.40°WOldman — 50.47°N, 110.39°WOldman — 50.82°N, 111.58°WOldman — 50.74°N, 111.49°WOldman — 50.75°N, 111.42°WOldman — 50.64°N, 110.91°WOldman — 50.73°N, 110.08°WOldman — 49.14°N, 112.58°WOldman — 49.28°N, 112.20°WYorktown — 35.36°N, 76.82°WLance — 43.12°N, 104.64°WLance — 43.49°N, 104.46°WLance — 43.30°N, 104.37°WLance — 41.57°N, 108.67°WLance — 41.64°N, 107.65°WLance — 43.13°N, 104.49°WLance — 43.00°N, 104.50°WLance — 43.17°N, 104.57°WLance — 43.44°N, 104.41°WLance — 43.18°N, 104.53°WLance — 48.29°N, 105.84°WLance — 43.13°N, 104.07°WLance — 43.25°N, 104.65°WLance — 43.37°N, 104.70°WLance — 43.42°N, 104.49°WLance — 45.48°N, 104.19°WLance — 45.35°N, 105.24°WLance — 44.94°N, 108.85°WLance — 42.88°N, 105.85°WLance — 44.09°N, 109.18°WLance — 43.03°N, 104.64°WHillgrove — 45.13°S, 170.97°ENemegt — 43.54°N, 99.60°ENemegt — 43.57°N, 100.48°ENemegt — 43.44°N, 100.37°ENemegt — 43.48°N, 100.36°ENemegt — 43.49°N, 101.28°ENemegt — 43.52°N, 101.05°ENemegt — 43.58°N, 100.44°ENemegt — 43.50°N, 101.05°ENemegt — 43.87°N, 100.01°ENemegt — 43.58°N, 107.78°ENemegt — 43.82°N, 99.98°ENemegt — 43.47°N, 99.83°ENemegt — 44.07°N, 102.67°ENemegt — 43.85°N, 100.14°ENemegt — 43.76°N, 99.90°ENemegt — 43.58°N, 107.69°ENemegt — 43.86°N, 100.23°ENemegt — 43.48°N, 100.46°ENemegt — 43.32°N, 99.83°EJiufotang — 41.50°N, 121.22°EJiufotang — 41.42°N, 120.18°EJiufotang — 41.49°N, 120.23°EJiufotang — 41.40°N, 119.98°EJiufotang — 43.64°N, 120.43°EJiufotang — 41.57°N, 120.16°EJiufotang — 41.57°N, 120.47°EJiufotang — 41.60°N, 120.42°EJiufotang — 41.25°N, 120.03°EJiufotang — 40.59°N, 119.58°EJiufotang — 40.65°N, 119.69°EJiufotang — 41.75°N, 120.00°EJiufotang — 41.12°N, 119.74°EJiufotang — 40.81°N, 119.80°EJiufotang — 40.91°N, 119.50°EJiufotang — 41.24°N, 119.40°EJiufotang — 40.59°N, 119.43°EJiufotang — 40.99°N, 119.68°EBannockburn — 44.91°S, 169.86°EBannockburn — 44.89°S, 169.84°EBannockburn — 44.88°S, 169.75°EYixian — 41.80°N, 120.73°EYixian — 41.60°N, 120.87°EYixian — 42.02°N, 125.06°EYixian — 41.37°N, 124.68°EYixian — 41.13°N, 121.14°EYixian — 41.57°N, 119.33°EYixian — 41.37°N, 121.42°EYixian — 41.60°N, 120.84°EYixian — 41.88°N, 116.56°EYixian — 41.47°N, 121.19°EYixian — 41.24°N, 119.40°EYixian — 41.80°N, 120.78°EYixian — 41.60°N, 120.98°EYixian — 40.81°N, 119.80°EYixian — 39.88°N, 123.44°EYixian — 40.00°N, 116.67°EYixian — 41.47°N, 120.76°EYixian — 40.75°N, 120.83°EYixian — 40.65°N, 119.68°EYixian — 37.43°N, 122.06°EYixian — 41.59°N, 121.63°EYixian — 41.33°N, 119.13°EYixian — 40.64°N, 119.64°EYixian — 41.13°N, 121.70°EYixian — 41.42°N, 118.97°EVarswater — 32.98°S, 18.15°EVarswater — 31.92°S, 21.52°EVarswater — 33.67°S, 18.43°EVarswater — 33.00°S, 18.00°ETamiami — 27.34°N, 82.51°WTamiami — 27.78°N, 82.68°WTamiami — 27.37°N, 82.45°WAguja — 29.14°N, 103.20°WAguja — 29.32°N, 103.52°WAguja — 29.20°N, 103.20°WAguja — 29.23°N, 103.57°WAguja — 29.29°N, 103.55°WPisco — 15.58°S, 74.72°WPisco — 15.44°S, 74.87°WPisco — 14.56°S, 75.67°WPisco — 15.50°S, 74.80°WPisco — 15.55°S, 74.80°WPisco — 15.67°S, 74.54°WPisco — 14.33°S, 75.90°WHorseshoe Canyon — 51.82°N, 112.98°WHorseshoe Canyon — 51.54°N, 112.82°WHorseshoe Canyon — 51.44°N, 112.70°WHorseshoe Canyon — 51.93°N, 112.93°WHorseshoe Canyon — 51.80°N, 112.95°WHorseshoe Canyon — 52.00°N, 112.88°WHorseshoe Canyon — 51.55°N, 112.87°WHorseshoe Canyon — 53.45°N, 113.55°WHorseshoe Canyon — 51.46°N, 112.67°WHorseshoe Canyon — 51.59°N, 112.82°WHorseshoe Canyon — 51.65°N, 112.90°WHorseshoe Canyon — 51.41°N, 112.63°WHorseshoe Canyon — 55.46°N, 117.42°WHorseshoe Canyon — 53.26°N, 113.81°WHorseshoe Canyon — 51.49°N, 113.15°WHorseshoe Canyon — 53.34°N, 113.89°WLa Meseta — 64.25°S, 56.72°WLa Meseta — 64.24°S, 56.65°WLa Meseta — 64.24°S, 56.65°WFerris — 41.94°N, 106.88°WFerris — 41.80°N, 107.00°WFerris — 41.96°N, 106.89°WMonterey — 33.56°N, 117.71°WMonterey — 34.95°N, 120.14°WMonterey — 34.61°N, 120.44°WCloverly — 45.44°N, 108.16°WCloverly — 44.51°N, 107.90°WCloverly — 44.98°N, 108.32°WCloverly — 46.34°N, 109.69°WCloverly — 45.20°N, 108.81°WCloverly — 45.36°N, 108.75°WCloverly — 43.22°N, 107.57°WCloverly — 45.34°N, 108.81°WCloverly — 45.38°N, 108.26°WCloverly — 45.41°N, 108.04°WCloverly — 45.35°N, 108.10°WCloverly — 45.26°N, 108.41°WCloverly — 44.66°N, 107.89°WCloverly — 44.50°N, 107.82°WCloverly — 44.83°N, 108.31°WCloverly — 45.49°N, 108.73°WFruitland/Kirtland — 36.34°N, 108.08°WFruitland/Kirtland — 36.27°N, 108.21°WFruitland/Kirtland — 36.19°N, 108.09°WFruitland/Kirtland — 36.06°N, 107.96°WFruitland/Kirtland — 36.33°N, 108.05°WFruitland/Kirtland — 36.28°N, 108.26°WFruitland/Kirtland — 36.02°N, 107.64°WFruitland/Kirtland — 36.23°N, 107.94°WFruitland/Kirtland — 36.02°N, 107.80°WFruitland/Kirtland — 36.18°N, 107.84°WFruitland/Kirtland — 36.10°N, 107.85°WFruitland/Kirtland — 35.97°N, 107.48°WPierre Shale — 49.18°N, 98.10°WPierre Shale — 49.22°N, 98.20°WPierre Shale — 49.14°N, 98.22°WWillwood — 43.03°N, 108.38°WWillwood — 44.30°N, 109.00°WWillwood — 44.37°N, 108.67°WWillwood — 44.60°N, 108.32°WWillwood — 44.59°N, 108.41°WWillwood — 44.65°N, 108.54°WWillwood — 44.52°N, 108.58°WWillwood — 44.65°N, 108.90°WWillwood — 44.63°N, 108.92°WWillwood — 44.52°N, 108.70°WWillwood — 44.68°N, 108.73°WWillwood — 44.60°N, 108.79°WWillwood — 44.65°N, 108.77°WWillwood — 44.45°N, 108.43°WWillwood — 44.30°N, 108.07°WWillwood — 45.00°N, 109.05°WWillwood — 44.42°N, 108.15°WWillwood — 44.50°N, 108.05°WWillwood — 44.78°N, 108.97°WWillwood — 44.77°N, 109.08°WWillwood — 44.50°N, 108.00°WWillwood — 44.32°N, 108.02°W

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The named rock units Tetanurae has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. The read hit its cap, so each count is a floor. 795 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 6,374 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Found in the same rock

2,500 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records at least 1,029 sites for Tetanurae, and this reads 240 of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

at least 2,539 references

Each of the 12,000 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. That read hit its cap, so each count is a floor. 2,527 further references are not listed. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content1

Picture of Tetanurae

Credit
hibino [1] User:FunkMonk User:ケラトプスユウタ Mike Bowler [2] User:Toter Alter Mann User:Rufus46
Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0
Commercial use
the licence allows it

No 3D scan of Tetanurae was found in MorphoSource and Sketchfab.

Smithsonian Open Access was not reached for this taxon, so this list is what the others held rather than everything there is.

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itAverostra through timeThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. Gauthier 1986