Alvarezsauridae is a
family of small, long-legged running
dinosaurs. Although originally thought to represent the earliest known flightless
birds, a consensus of recent work suggests that they are primitive members of the
Maniraptora. Other work found them to be the sister group to the
Ornithomimosauria. Alvarezsaurs are highly specialized. They bear tiny but stoutly proportioned forelimbs with compact birdlike hands and their skeleton suggests they had massive breast and arm muscles, possibly adapted for digging or tearing. They have tubular snouts, elongate jaws, and minute teeth. They may have been adapted to prey on colonial insects such as
termites.
