Theropoda: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

Theropods ("beast foot") are a group of bipedal, primarily carnivorous dinosaurs. They flourished from the Late Triassic (~220 million years ago) until the close of the Cretaceous(65 million years ago), yet are today represented by the 8600 living species of birds.

Some kinds of theropods are tyrannosaurs, including the famous Tyrannosaurus rex, the dromaeosaurs, including Velociraptor and Deinonychus, the herbivorous ornithomimids and oviraptorosaurs, and the birds. A number of features link them to birds, including a three-toed foot, a wishbone, air-filled bones, and (in some cases) feathers and brooding of the eggs.