Theropoda

Theropoda is one of the three major clades of dinosaurs, alongside Ornithischia and Sauropodomorpha. Theropods, both extant and extinct, are characterized by hollow bones and three toes and claws on each limb. They are generally classed as saurischian dinosaurs, placing them closer to sauropodomorphs than to ornithischians. They were ancestrally carnivorous, although a number of theropod groups evolved to become herbivores and omnivores. Many members of the subgroup Coelurosauria were covered with feathers, and it is possible that they were also present in other theropods. In the Jurassic, birds evolved from small specialized coelurosaurian theropods. There are around 11,000 living bird species, making theropods the only living group of dinosaurs.

Theropoda

Uncredited · CC BY 2.0 · 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
theropodPBDB
Sits inside
DinosauriaPBDB
Diet
carnivorePBDB
Life habit
ground dwelling, solitaryPBDB
Motility
actively mobilePBDB
Environment
terrestrialPBDB

Time the record covers

At least 241 million years on record.

The record covers at least 241.464 Mya to 11.7 ka. No occurrence read is dated outside 247 Mya to 0 Mya.

Early Triassic — about 0 of 12000 occurrencesMiddle Triassic — about 10 of 12000 occurrencesLate Triassic — about 273 of 12000 occurrencesLate TriassicEarly Jurassic — about 498 of 12000 occurrencesEarly JurassicMiddle Jurassic — about 180 of 12000 occurrencesLate Jurassic — about 541 of 12000 occurrencesEarly Cretaceous — about 1363 of 12000 occurrencesEarly CretaceousLate Cretaceous — about 3117 of 12000 occurrencesLate CretaceousPaleocene — about 64 of 12000 occurrencesEocene — about 391 of 12000 occurrencesEoceneOligocene — about 177 of 12000 occurrencesMiocene — about 866 of 12000 occurrencesPliocene — about 599 of 12000 occurrencesPleistocene — about 3255 of 12000 occurrences252–244 Mya — about 4 occurrences244–235 Mya — about 11 occurrences235–227 Mya — about 27 occurrences227–218 Mya — about 72 occurrences218–210 Mya — about 79 occurrences210–202 Mya — about 88 occurrences202–193 Mya — about 391 occurrences193–185 Mya — about 71 occurrences185–176 Mya — about 33 occurrences176–168 Mya — about 59 occurrences168–160 Mya — about 146 occurrences160–151 Mya — about 200 occurrences151–143 Mya — about 330 occurrences143–134 Mya — about 175 occurrences134–126 Mya — about 113 occurrences126–118 Mya — about 496 occurrences118–109 Mya — about 358 occurrences109–101 Mya — about 206 occurrences101–92 Mya — about 308 occurrences92–84 Mya — about 219 occurrences84–76 Mya — about 914 occurrences76–67 Mya — about 1434 occurrences67–59 Mya — about 277 occurrences59–50 Mya — about 141 occurrences50–42 Mya — about 99 occurrences42–34 Mya — about 191 occurrences34–25 Mya — about 135 occurrences25–17 Mya — about 278 occurrences17–8.4 Mya — about 455 occurrences8.4–0 Mya — about 4690 occurrences241.464 Mya11.7 ka252 Mya0 Mya

12,000+ occurrences of Theropoda 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 1108 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 — 46.09°N, 100.63°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 — 46.33°N, 104.01°WHell Creek — 45.83°N, 103.90°WHell Creek — 45.40°N, 103.65°WHell Creek — 46.41°N, 103.50°WHell Creek — 46.24°N, 107.38°WHell Creek — 47.05°N, 107.35°WHell Creek — 45.87°N, 103.79°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°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 — 50.60°N, 111.62°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 — 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 — 39.15°N, 108.77°WMorrison — 39.32°N, 110.69°WMorrison — 40.44°N, 109.32°WMorrison — 40.09°N, 105.94°WMorrison — 37.53°N, 103.68°WMorrison — 38.81°N, 108.32°WMorrison — 38.32°N, 108.83°WMorrison — 39.17°N, 108.77°WMorrison — 41.80°N, 106.59°WMorrison — 44.49°N, 107.88°WMorrison — 44.46°N, 104.73°WMorrison — 40.47°N, 109.18°WMorrison — 38.64°N, 108.19°WMorrison — 35.58°N, 106.94°WMorrison — 39.08°N, 108.65°WMorrison — 44.23°N, 103.38°WMorrison — 34.94°N, 107.60°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 — 37.46°N, 110.51°WMorrison — 44.63°N, 107.81°WMorrison — 38.86°N, 110.90°WMorrison — 45.22°N, 108.83°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 — 42.63°N, 105.44°WMorrison — 35.43°N, 107.83°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 — 50.81°N, 111.63°WOldman — 50.60°N, 111.62°WOldman — 50.90°N, 111.80°WOldman — 50.72°N, 111.48°WOldman — 50.69°N, 111.62°WOldman — 49.14°N, 112.58°WOldman — 49.28°N, 112.58°WOldman — 50.72°N, 111.40°WOldman — 50.47°N, 110.39°WOldman — 50.75°N, 111.42°WOldman — 49.28°N, 112.20°WOldman — 50.64°N, 110.91°WOldman — 50.73°N, 110.08°WOldman — 50.86°N, 111.14°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°WNemegt — 43.54°N, 99.60°ENemegt — 43.72°N, 99.93°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 — 43.47°N, 99.83°ENemegt — 43.58°N, 107.78°ENemegt — 43.85°N, 100.48°ENemegt — 43.82°N, 99.98°ENemegt — 44.07°N, 102.67°ENemegt — 43.99°N, 101.28°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°EPortland — 41.57°N, 72.63°WPortland — 42.26°N, 72.57°WPortland — 42.61°N, 72.51°WPortland — 42.61°N, 72.55°WPortland — 41.73°N, 72.66°WPortland — 41.69°N, 72.64°WPortland — 42.17°N, 72.67°WPortland — 42.16°N, 72.58°WPortland — 41.55°N, 72.69°WPortland — 42.52°N, 72.55°WLance — 43.12°N, 104.64°WLance — 44.24°N, 109.02°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 — 43.25°N, 104.52°WLance — 43.13°N, 104.07°WLance — 45.04°N, 108.80°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 — 45.71°N, 102.05°WLance — 45.93°N, 103.92°WLance — 44.94°N, 108.85°WLance — 42.88°N, 105.85°WLance — 44.09°N, 109.18°WLance — 43.03°N, 104.64°WYorktown — 35.36°N, 76.82°WHillgrove — 45.13°S, 170.97°EAguja — 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°WYixian — 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°EBannockburn — 44.91°S, 169.86°EBannockburn — 44.89°S, 169.84°EBannockburn — 44.88°S, 169.75°EMaevarano — 15.90°S, 46.58°EMaevarano — 15.93°S, 46.52°EMaevarano — 16.12°S, 45.74°EJiufotang — 41.20°N, 120.31°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°EVarswater — 32.98°S, 18.15°EVarswater — 31.92°S, 21.52°EVarswater — 33.67°S, 18.43°EVarswater — 33.00°S, 18.00°EDjadokhta — 44.25°N, 103.33°EDjadokhta — 44.20°N, 103.73°EDjadokhta — 43.66°N, 100.90°EDjadokhta — 44.22°N, 103.27°EDjadokhta — 44.13°N, 103.56°EDjadokhta — 44.00°N, 104.00°EDjadokhta — 42.08°N, 102.17°EDjadokhta — 44.52°N, 103.15°EDjadokhta — 44.15°N, 103.72°EDjadokhta — 44.09°N, 102.91°EDjadokhta — 44.05°N, 102.82°EDjadokhta — 44.18°N, 102.78°ECloverly — 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 — 45.45°N, 108.14°WCloverly — 45.26°N, 108.41°WCloverly — 44.66°N, 107.89°WCloverly — 44.04°N, 107.51°WCloverly — 44.50°N, 107.82°WCloverly — 44.44°N, 109.06°WCloverly — 44.83°N, 108.31°WCloverly — 45.49°N, 108.73°WTamiami — 27.34°N, 82.51°WTamiami — 27.78°N, 82.68°WTamiami — 27.37°N, 82.45°WFerris — 41.94°N, 106.88°WFerris — 41.80°N, 107.00°WFerris — 41.96°N, 106.89°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 — 51.62°N, 112.87°WHorseshoe Canyon — 51.80°N, 112.95°WHorseshoe Canyon — 51.54°N, 112.87°WHorseshoe Canyon — 51.69°N, 112.91°WHorseshoe Canyon — 51.95°N, 112.90°WHorseshoe Canyon — 51.94°N, 112.96°WHorseshoe Canyon — 51.75°N, 112.96°WHorseshoe Canyon — 50.79°N, 111.59°WHorseshoe Canyon — 53.45°N, 113.55°WHorseshoe Canyon — 51.46°N, 112.67°WHorseshoe Canyon — 51.59°N, 112.82°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°WBissekty — 42.12°N, 62.66°EBissekty — 40.70°N, 72.60°EBissekty — 42.02°N, 63.30°EBissekty — 42.60°N, 63.47°EBissekty — 41.29°N, 61.50°EBissekty — 41.78°N, 63.78°ETwo Medicine — 48.63°N, 113.75°WTwo Medicine — 48.48°N, 112.70°WTwo Medicine — 48.91°N, 112.64°WTwo Medicine — 48.97°N, 112.65°WTwo Medicine — 48.65°N, 112.97°WTwo Medicine — 47.81°N, 112.18°WTwo Medicine — 47.82°N, 112.66°WTwo Medicine — 47.99°N, 112.28°WTwo Medicine — 47.71°N, 112.22°WTwo Medicine — 47.63°N, 112.58°WTwo Medicine — 48.61°N, 109.68°WJudith River — 46.47°N, 109.30°WJudith River — 46.46°N, 109.41°WJudith River — 47.81°N, 109.59°WJudith River — 48.93°N, 110.58°WJudith River — 47.77°N, 108.95°WJudith River — 48.97°N, 110.55°WJudith River — 46.10°N, 109.10°WJudith River — 46.40°N, 109.66°WJudith River — 46.42°N, 109.27°WJudith River — 46.44°N, 109.83°WJudith River — 46.23°N, 108.98°WJudith River — 47.72°N, 109.64°WJudith River — 47.40°N, 109.65°WJudith River — 48.54°N, 109.81°WJudith River — 46.76°N, 108.00°W

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The named rock units Theropoda 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. 1,084 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 4,208 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Found in the same rock

2,333 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records at least 1,017 sites for Theropoda, 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 3,205 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. 3,193 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 content2

Picture of Theropoda

Credit
nobody named on the record
Licence
CC BY 2.0
Commercial use
the licence allows it

Structured light scan

Licence
not stated by the source
Commercial use
cannot be read from the licence given — check the record
Specimen
Theropoda indet. indet. · dmnh:epv:91002

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 itDinosauria through timeThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. (Marsh 1881)