Timeline of dromaeosaurid research

Since the Native Americans of Montana used the sediments of the Cloverly Formation to produce pigments, they may have encountered remains of the dromaeosaurid Deinonychus hundreds of years before these fossils came to the attention of formally trained scientists.

[2] This discovery played a major role in setting off the Dinosaur Renaissance because Deinonychus was obviously a vigorous, active animal, and exhibited characteristics linking it to the origin of birds.

[3] Its distinct nature and similarity to Dromaeosaurus led Ostrom to follow Edwin Colbert and Dale Russel's suggestion that the Dromaeosaurinae be regarded as its own family separate from the Deinodontidae.

[6] Three years later, Xu and others would report a new species in this genus that exhibited a bizarre "four winged" body plan with long pennaceous flight feathers on both its front and hind limbs.

[7] 1887 1914 1922 1924 1926 1969 1972 1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1981 1982 1983 1985 1986 1990 1993 1994 1995 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Neornithes (P) Ichthyornis Hesperornis Patagopteryx Enantiornithes (P) Confuciusornis (P) Archaeopteryx (P) Dromaeosaurs (F) Troodontids Oviraptor Caudipteryx (F) Therizinosaurs (F) Protarchaeopteryx (F) Ornithomimids Tyrannosaurus Sinosauropteryx (F) Compsognathus 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Mahakala Unenlagia Austroraptor Buitreraptor Rahonavis Graciliraptor Changyuraptor Microraptor Sinornithosaurus Tianyuraptor Zhenyuanlong Bambiraptor Saurornitholestes Tsaagan Adasaurus Deinonychus Balaur Velociraptor Achillobator Utahraptor Atrociraptor Dromaeosaurus 2017 2019