Megaraptora is a group of large carnivorous theropod dinosaurs with controversial relationships. Phylogenetic studies conducted by Benson, Carrano and Brusatte (2010) and Carrano, Benson and Sampson (2012) recovered the group as a branch of the allosauroids (specifically within the family Neovenatoridae), part of a large group of carnosaurs that also includes the metriacanthosaurids, carcharodontosaurids, and allosaurids. This would make megaraptorans the last surviving allosauroids; at least a few megaraptorans, including Orkoraptor, lived near the end of the Mesozoic era, dating to the late Santonian stage of the late Cretaceous period, about 84 million years ago. On the other hand, Novas et al. (2012), while confirming that Neovenator was closely related to carcharodontosaurids, simultaneously found Megaraptor and related genera to probably be coelurosaurs closely related to tyrannosaurids. A juvenile specimen of Megaraptor suggests it to be within Tyrannosauroidea, as well. From these debated relations, megaraptorans have been, at the moment, simply placed by some under avetheropods, mostly to remain neutral between carnosaurs and coelurosaurs.