Theropod facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Theropods Temporal range: Late Triassic–Present, 231.4–0Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Mounted skeleton of Coelophysis bauri, Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Clade:	Dinosauria
Clade:	Saurischia
Clade:	Theropoda Marsh, 1881
Subgroups
†Daemonosaurus †Eodromaeus Neotheropoda †Liliensternus †Tachiraptor †Zupaysaurus †Shuangbaisaurus †Coelophysoidea †Dilophosauridae Averostra †Ceratosauria Tetanurae

Theropods are a super cool group of dinosaurs. Their name means 'beast foot'. These dinosaurs walked on two legs, just like humans do! They were part of a larger group called Saurischians, which means 'lizard-hipped' dinosaurs.

Most theropods were meat-eaters, also known as carnivores. But some groups changed their diets over time. They became plant-eaters, eaters of both plants and meat, or even insect-eaters.

Today, theropods are still around! They are the 9,300 different kinds of birds we see. Birds evolved from small, feathered theropods called Coelurosaurs during the Upper Jurassic period.

What Makes a Theropod?

Theropods share many features with modern birds. These include walking on two legs, having a three-toed foot, and a furcula (which is also known as a wishbone). They also had bones filled with air, feathers, and they would sit on their eggs to keep them warm, a process called brooding.

Early Theropod Dinosaurs

The first theropods appeared about 230 million years ago. This was during the earliest part of the Upper Triassic period. For a very long time, from the Lower Jurassic until the end of the Cretaceous period (about 65 million years ago), theropods were the main large meat-eating animals on land.

Some of the earliest and most basic theropod dinosaurs were:

• the meat-eating Eodromaeus
• the herrerasaurids from Argentina. These dinosaurs had a mix of old and new features.
• the Eoraptor, which ate both plants and meat
• Coelophysis

Related Pages

• Origin of birds
• Dinosaur brains and intelligence

See also

In Spanish: Theropoda para niños

Images for kids

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  Specimen of the troodontid Jinfengopteryx elegans, with seeds preserved in the stomach region

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  Fossil of an Anchiornis, showing large preserved feather imprints

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  An ostrich walking on a road in Etosha National Park, Namibia

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  Mummified enantiornithean wing (of an unknown genus) from Cenomanian amber from Myanmar

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  Possible early forms Herrerasaurus (large) and Eoraptor (small)

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  Othniel Charles Marsh, who coined the name Theropoda. Photo c. 1870

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  Allosaurus was one of the first dinosaurs classified as a theropod.

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  Ceratosaurus, a ceratosaurid

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  Mapusaurus, a carcharodontosaurid

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  Passer domesticus, an avian, and the world's most widespread extant wild theropod.