Bahariasauridae
Probable family of averostran theropods / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bahariasauridae is a potential family of averostran theropods that might include a handful of African and South American genera, such as Aoniraptor, Bahariasaurus, Deltadromeus, and Gualicho.[1][2] The placement of these theropods is controversial, with some studies placing them as basal ceratosaurs possibly related to Noasauridae (which they may also include the otherwise noasaurid subfamily Elaphrosaurinae),[1] others classifying them as megaraptorans,[2][3] basal neovenatorids,[4] or basal coelurosaurs.[5][6] There is also a possibility the group might not be monophyletic, as a monograph on the vertebrate diversity in the Kem Kem Beds published in 2020 found Bahariasaurus to be nomen dubium.[7] In the same paper Deltadromeus is classified as an noasaurid,[7] a result also recovered by some previous studies.[8][9][10] A 2024 phylogenetic analysis found Aoniraptor, Bahariasaurus, Deltadromeus, and Gualicho to form a monophyletic clade as the sister taxon to Elaphrosaurus near the base of Ceratosauria.[11]
Bahariasauridae | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Dinosauria |
Clade: | Saurischia |
Clade: | Theropoda |
Clade: | Averostra |
Family: | †Bahariasauridae von Huene, 1948 |
Type species | |
†Bahariasaurus ingens Stromer, 1934 | |
Subclades | |
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