Coeluridae is a family of generally small, carnivorous dinosaurs from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. For many years, any small Jurassic or Cretaceous theropod that did not belong to one of the more specialized families recognized at the time was classified with the coelurids, creating a confusing array of "coelurid" theropods that were not closely related. Some dinosaurs mistakenly assigned to Coeluridae in the past include Stenonychosaurus (a troodontid) and Microvenator (a close relative of oviraptorids).
In 2003, O.W.M. Rauhut redefined Coeluridae to include Coelurus (Late Jurassic, North America), Compsognathus (Late Jurassic, Europe), Sinosauropteryx (Early Cretaceous, Asia), and an unnamed Compsognathus-like form (Early Cretaceous, South America). Rauhut considered coelurids to be basal coelurosaurs characterized by evolutionary reversals in some aspects of the vertebrae to the more primitive theropod condition. Other traits that potentially define Coeluridae are uncertain because the genus Coelurus is still incompletely known.
