Maniraptora

   Maniraptora is the sister group to Arctometatarsalia and together with it makes up Maniraptoriformes.  It has several main groups: Deinonychosauria, including Dromaeosauridae, or "raptors", and the gracile Troodontidae; Oviraptorosauria (Caenagnathidae/Elmisauridae, Oviraptoridae, and ?Avimimidae); Therizinosauria; and Avialae.  Feathers or protofeathers are known for deinonychosaurians, basal oviraptorosaurians, basal therizinosaurians, and avialans (this one is easily verified), suggesting all maniraptorans possessed one or the other.  Oviraptorosauria and Therizinosauria are sometimes combined into one group, Oviraptoriformes (informally "Enigmosauria").  What follows would pass for conservative, if I actually knew what I was doing.
    
<--Maniraptora
      |-->Therizinosauria
      `--+-->Alvarezsauridae
           `--+-->Oviraptorosauria
                `--Eumaniraptora
                     |--Deinonychosauria
                     |    |-->Dromaeosauridae
                     |    `-->Troodontidae
                     `--Avialae
                          |   ?Archaeopterygidae
                          |      |--Archaeopteryx
                          |      `--+--Anchiornis
                          |           `--Xiaotingia
                          |  ?Scansoriopterygidae
                          |     |--Epidendrosaurus/Scansoriopteryx 
                          |     `--Epidexypteryx
                          `--A whole bunch of extinct non-classic dinosaurian birds, leading to...
                               `--The modern birds we all know and love, except when they
                                   decorate our motor vehicles and other outdoor objects (as you
                                   can probably guess, birds aren't my strong suit).

Maniraptora i.s.:  

Taxon or Taxa: Time/Place: Comments:
Bradycneme draculae (N.D.) Harrison and Walker, 1975 early-mid Maastrichtian (LK) of Romania Bradycneme is based on a poorly-preserved distal tibiotarsus (tibia and fused ankle elements), originally thought to belong to an owl.  This has some resemblance to corresponding elements in the troodontids, but cannot be classified beyond Maniraptora indeterminate.
Palaeopteryx thomsoni (N.D.) Jensen, 1981 late Kimmeridgian (LJ) of Colorado Based on what was considered to be a bird's remains, this animal turned out to be a small maniraptoran theropod.
Shanyangosaurus niupanggouensis Xue, Zhang, and Bi, 1996 mid-late Maastrichtian (LK) of China Shanyangosaurus is an obscure small theropod, based on a large (but unfortunately poorly preserved) portion of the postcranium.  This mysterious animal is currently distinguished by the unique form of its cnemial crest (a process on the upper end of the tibia, corresponding roughly to the knee).  It seems to be closest to the oviraptorosaurians.  It may or may not have possessed uncinate processes, which are like bony horizontal rods projecting from the ribs.  These are seen in avians and some classic dinosaurs.
Variraptor mechinorum (?N.D.) Le Loeuff and Buffetaut, 1998 late Campanian-early Maastrichtian (LK) of France Originally described as a dromaeosaurid but based on possibly chimeric material, this theropod was described as favoring carrion.
Xinjiangovenator parvus Rauhut and Xu, 2005 ?Valanginian-Albian (EK) of China Based on a partial hindlimb (tibia, fibula, astragalus, and calcaneum) originally referred to Phaedrolosaurus, this animal appears to be some sort of maniraptoran, currently without a more inclusive home.  There is a vague possible relationship with Bagaraatan.  It has an unusual groove on the fibula.
Yixianosaurus longimanus Xu and Wang, 2003 Barremian-early Aptian (EK) of China From the Yixian, as its name makes clear, this taxon is based on the forelimbs and shoulders of a basal maniraptoran with exceedingly long hands, suggesting derived tree-climbing abilities.  Some feathers are also preserved.

Eumaniraptora i.s:  Eumaniraptorans get all the press.  In the early 2000s, a new Yixian deinonychosaurian was unveiled.  This specimen, a nearly complete juvenile, has some of the best preserved feathers of any yet found.  It was not assigned to any genus, but possibly is a juvenile of Sinornithosaurus.  Deinonychosaurian teeth are now known from the LK of Brazil.
    The taxon Paraves is roughly equivalent to Eumaniraptora; Eumaniraptora is the least inclusive group including Deinonychus and birds (a node-based group), whereas Paraves is all theropods closer to birds than to Oviraptor (a stem-based group).  Thus, as arranged here, there could be non-eumaniraptoran paravians, but not the other way around.  Additionally, if troodontids were basal to the group Deinonychus+birds, there would be a substantial group of non-eumaniraptoran paravians, but for now and the purposed of this page, Eumaniraptora and Paraves are functionally the same.

Taxon or Taxa: Time/Place: Comments:
Hulsanpes perlei Osmolska, 1982 ?mid Campanian (LK) of Mongolia Based on foot bones pertaining to a juvenile individual, Hulsanpes may be a juvenile of its own taxon, another classic theropod, or a bird.  The remains suggest it is most probably a primitive avian, or maybe related to the dromaeosaurids.
Jinfengopteryx elegans Ji, Ji, Lu, You, Chen, Liu, and Liu, 2005 ?Berrisian-?Hauterivian (EK) of China Known from most of the skeleton of a single individual, including feather impressions, Jinfengopteryx was described as an archaeopterygid, but others have suggested that it instead is a basal troodontid.  This is not a particularly large leap, as a basal troodontid and an Archaeopteryx-grade theropod would be fairly similar; a major difference is the length of the forelimbs, and Jinfengopteryx follows troodontids in having relatively short arms.
"Koreanosaurus koreanensis" (N.N.) Kim, 1979 Aptian-early Albian (EK) of South Korea Based on a femur, this animal has been called at different times a tyrannosaurid, hypsilophodontid, and dromaeosaurid (even the same as Deinonychus).  Its reported possession of a fourth trochanter at least means it can't be regular old Deinonychus, but at this point it's still pretty mysterious, although apparently close to if not a dromaeosaurid.  Whatever it is, it cannot be named Koreanosaurus, as that name was officially used for a basal ornithopod (hypsilophodont; what goes around, comes around, I guess).
"Laelaps": "L." explanatus (N.D.) Cope, 1876 late middle Campanian (LK) of Montana These two tooth taxa are usually assigned to Dromaeosaurus, although there has been a suggestion that they represent troodontids instead. 
"L." laevifrons (N.D.) Cope, 1876
Ornithodesmus cluniculus (N.D.) Seeley, 1887 Barremian (EK) of England Long confused with birds and pterosaurs, the type sacrum of this animal is probably a dromaeosaurid or troodontid.  At one point it was thought to not even be tetanuran.
Pedopenna daohugouensis Xu and Zhang, 2005 ?MJ-?LJ of China Here's a new feathered maniraptoran that's not from the Yixian!  Actually, the most interesting aspects are that it is apparently from the Jurassic, and that it preserves a hindlimb-wing.  There's not a whole lot of material, just an articulated right hindlimb from the mid tibia to the toes, with large feather impressions, particularly associated with the metatarsals.  It is considered to be an eumaniraptor, but it doesn't fit within the major derived groups included in this grouping.  It had an enlarged second claw, and, like most of these early eumaniraptorans, was small, probably less than a meter long.
Pneumatoraptor fodori Ősi, Apesteguía, and Kowalewski, 2010 Santonian (LK) of Hungary Pneumatoraptor is based on a paravian left shoulder girdle.  Some other miscellaneous bones from the same formation may pertain to it.  The name refers to the pneumaticity of the bone.
Yaverlandia bitholus Galton, 1971 Barremian (EK) of England An unusual Wealden dinosaur, Yaverlandia is based on a skull roof showing thickening, which led to it becoming famous as possibly the earliest, most generalized pachycephalosaurid. However, upon further review, it isn't a pachycephalosaur, and actually shows mairaptoran characteristics.

Avialae:  Yeah, I gave up the Paulian secondarily-flightless maniraptorans, although it is becoming crowded around here and the other derived maniraptoran clades with things that aren't quite sure if they would rather be basal dromaeosaurids, basal troodontids, basal deinonychosaurians, or basal avialans.

Archaeopterygidae: It may be that Archie and friends are actually closer to deinonychosaurians, and birds are descended from more blunt-snouted theropods like the scansoriopterygids.

Taxon or Taxa: Time/Place: Comments:
Archaeopteryx:
Meyer, 1861		 A. lithographica (type) Meyer, 1861 Tithonian (LJ) of Germany This is the famous "missing link" between birds and classic dinosaurs, and it has held up very well over the years.  It is now known from ten skeletons of varying completeness, one of which was considered a pterosaur originally and another of which was originally assigned to Compsognathus.  It was about crow-sized in mass, and was probably a decent but not pretty flyer.  Specimens of it show both the hyperextendable "sickle-claw" and excellent feather impressions.  It is very similar to dromaeosaurids in a number of ways.
A new genus has been coined for one of the specimens: Wellnhoferia grandis Elzanowski, 2001 (that's nothing new; practically every specimen had its own species if not genus for a while there).  The differences given include size and structure of the hindlimbs and tail.  While I'm not opposed to there being multiple species of Archaeopteryx, generic separation seems to be a bit much.  This is something where time (and more specimens!) will help.  A. lithographica seems to be the larger species, and A. siemensii smaller. 
A. siemensii Dames, 1897
Anchiornis huxleyi Xu X., Zhao Q., Norell, Sullivan, Hone, Erickson, Wang X., Han F., and Guo Y., 2009 Oxfordian-Kimmeridgian (LJ) of China Anchiornis was initially described as a feathered eumaniraptoran of uncertain affinities; at the time, the head wasn't known and neither was the age.  We now have both of those details, and it turns out to be from the early Late Jurassic (something of a surprise).  It was thought to be a basal troodontid once the head was in hand, which would make it both the earliest named troodontid and one of the oldest feathered dinosaurs. Further work suggests it was closer to Archaeopteryx, but you know how changeable these things get at the base of a lineage.  It was pretty tiny, estimated as a little over a foot long (the type specimen missing the skull, part of the tail, and the right arm).  Its arms were 80% the length of its legs, similar to Archaeopteryx.  Lengthy feathers were present on both arms and legs, and there was a crest of feathers on the head.  Structural analysis of the feathers indicates that the crest was reddish, the body feathers were dark grey, and the wing feathers (arms and legs) were white with black tips. 
Xiaotingia zhengi Xu X., You H., Du K., and Han F., 2011 Oxfordian-Kimmeridgian (LJ) of China Xiaotingia gives us another small feathery birdy theropod, helping to fill in more details on what Archaeopteryx-like theropods were doing (we've gotten quite a few small feathery birdy theropods since the mid-1990s, but few that match up well with Archie).

Scansoriopterygidae: This is the place to go to find weird little things with weird long third fingers.

Epidendrosaurus nighchengensis Zhang, Zhou, Xu, and Wang, 2002 (?Scansoriopteryx) ?MJ-?LJ of China Based on a juvenile (essentially weeks-removed from hatching) specimen, Epidendrosaurus includes unusual features, such as an extremely elongated third finger, which indicate that it could climb trees.
Epidexipteryx hui F. Zhang, Z. Zhou, X. Xu, X. Wang, and Sullivan, 2008 ?MJ-?LJ of China Little Epidexi was a short-tailed short-snouted maniraptoran with long strap or ribbon-like feather things on its stubby tail.  It was similar to the scansoriopterygids Epidendrosaurus and Scansoriopteryx, although unfortunately its hands are are one of the few parts of the body that aren't preserved clearly (the scansoriopteygids, of course, having very distinctive hands). 
Scansoriopteryx heilmanni Czerkas and Yuan, 2002 (?Epidendrosaurus) ?MJ-?LJ of China A Yixian theropod based on a partial juvenile skeleton including skull and limb elements, Scansoriopteryx appears to be a climbing maniraptoran (probably the same as Epidendrosaurus, but this is not quite nailed down).  It had an unusually long third digit of the hand, longer than the other two digits. 

From here on out, it's just birds, not classic dinosaurs, so we end our expedition.  I assume you're fairly familiar with the characteristics of modern birds, and so will just say early birds differ from modern birds in several important ways: some had teeth, some had bony tails, and some had free fingers that still had claws.  These are the major differences.

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