Maniraptoran theropods are an exception to the overall pattern
of declining evolutionary rates through time: exhibiting numerous
instances of exceptional body size shifts, maintaining rapid
evolutionary rates, and generating high ecological diversity
[67,68], including flying taxa. Although a previous study found
little evidence for directional trends of body size increase in
herbivorous maniraptoran clades [69], this does not conflict with
our observation that some body size shifts in maniraptorans (and
other coelurosaurs) coincide with the appearance of craniodental,
or other, evidence for herbivory (Table 3; e.g., [67,68,70]).