Deinonychus antirropus (Ostrom 1969, Early Cretaceous). This is the dinosaur that started the dinosaur renaissance. Deinonychus had the first 'killer' claw, a tendon stiffened tail and an Archaeopteryx-like manus (hand). These traits indicated a highly active, likely warm-blooded predator, more like an eagle than a Komodo dragon (lizard). Note the jugal-squamosal contact.

Bambiraptor feinbergi (Burnham et al. 2000; Late Cretaceous, AMNH FR 30556) was originally considered a juvenile Sauronitholestes. The brain size is the largest among Mesozoic dinosaurs. Here it nests basal to Velociraptor and Balaur. Proportions are closer to Arachaeopteryx.

Velociraptor mongoliensis (Osborn 1924; Late Cretaceous, 75 mya; 6.8m long) was related to Haplocheirus and close to birds like Aurornis. One Velociraptor specimen was found in combat with a Protoceratops. The tail was long and stiffened with elongate chevrons and zygapophyses. The pubis was oriented posteriorly.

Balaur bondoc (Csiki et al. 2010, Cau et al. 2015; Late Cretaceous) is known from a pectoral girdle and forelimb together with a pelvis and hind limb. Both medial toes had large erect unguals. This was a robust theropod, close to Velociraptor and Haplocheirus.

Burnham DA, Derstler KL, Currie PJ, Bakker RT, Zhou Z and Ostrom J H 2000. Remarkable new birdlike dinosaur (Theropoda: Maniraptora) from the Upper Cretaceous of Montana. University of Kansas Paleontological Contributions 13: 1-14.

Cau A, Brougham T and Naish D. 2015. The Phylogenetic Affinities of the Bizarre Late Cretaceous Romanian Theropod Balaur bondoc (Dinosauria, Maniraptora): Dromaeosaurid or Flightless Bird? PeerJ. 3: E1032. DOI: dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1032

Csiki Z, Vremir M, Brusatte SL, Norell MA 2010. An aberrant island-dwelling theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Romania. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 107 (35): 15357–15361.

Osborn HF 1924. Three new Theropoda, Protoceratops zone, central Mongolia". American Museum Novitates 144: 1–12.

Ostrom JH 1970. Stratigraphy and paleontology of the Cloverly Formation (Lower Cretaceous) of the Bighorn Basin area, Wyoming and Montana. Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History 35: 1–234.

wiki/Balaur
wiki/Velociraptor
wiki/Bambiraptor
wiki/Deinonychus