Noasauridae

Noasauridae is a family of small to medium-sized ceratosaurian theropods closely related to the short-armed abelisaurids, but built along more conventional lines: nimble, lightly constructed animals whose feet show running adaptations such as an elongated central foot bone. The family is usually divided into two subfamilies. The Noasaurinae are Late Cretaceous forms of the southern continents and islands, including South America, Madagascar, and India, best represented by Masiakasaurus with its downturned jaw and forward-splaying teeth; some, such as the sickle-clawed members, bore an enlarged hand claw. The Elaphrosaurinae, whose best-known members lived earlier in the Jurassic, developed long necks, small skulls, and toothless beaked jaws, and were largely herbivorous as adults. The group is highly disparate, spanning tiny predators under 1.5 meters long to much larger genera exceeding 6 meters, and its exact composition, including controversial members like Deltadromeus, remains debated.