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Archosauriformes (Greek
Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic Greece , Classical Greece , and Hellenistic civilization periods of ancient Greece and the classical antiquity....
 for 'ruling lizards', and 'form') are a clade of diapsid
Diapsid

Diapsids are a group of reptiles that developed two holes in each side of their skulls, about 300 million years ago during the late Carboniferous period....
 reptile
Reptile

Reptiles, or members of the class Reptilia, are air-breathing, cold-blooded vertebrates that have skin covered in scale as opposed to hair or feathers....
s that developed from Archosauromorph
Archosauromorpha

Archosauromorpha is an Infraclass of diapsid reptiles that first appeared during the late Permian and became more common during the Triassic. Included in this infraclass are the orders Rhynchosauria, Trilophosauridae, Prolacertiformes, Archosauriformes, and, tentatively, the Choristodera....
 ancestors some time in the Late Permian
Permian

The PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Roderick Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian system" after the ancient kingdom...
 (roughly 250 million years ago). These reptile
Reptile

Reptiles, or members of the class Reptilia, are air-breathing, cold-blooded vertebrates that have skin covered in scale as opposed to hair or feathers....
s, which include members of the family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 Proterosuchidae
Proterosuchidae

Proterosuchidae are an early, possibly paraphyletic, assemblage of Basal archosauriformes whose fossils are known from the Latest Permian of Russia and the Early Triassic of southern Africa, Russia, China, Australia, and Antarctica....
 and more advanced forms, were originally superficially crocodile-like predatory semi-aquatic animals about 1.5 meters long, with a sprawling elbows-out stance and long snouts.






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Archosauriformes (Greek
Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic Greece , Classical Greece , and Hellenistic civilization periods of ancient Greece and the classical antiquity....
 for 'ruling lizards', and 'form') are a clade of diapsid
Diapsid

Diapsids are a group of reptiles that developed two holes in each side of their skulls, about 300 million years ago during the late Carboniferous period....
 reptile
Reptile

Reptiles, or members of the class Reptilia, are air-breathing, cold-blooded vertebrates that have skin covered in scale as opposed to hair or feathers....
s that developed from Archosauromorph
Archosauromorpha

Archosauromorpha is an Infraclass of diapsid reptiles that first appeared during the late Permian and became more common during the Triassic. Included in this infraclass are the orders Rhynchosauria, Trilophosauridae, Prolacertiformes, Archosauriformes, and, tentatively, the Choristodera....
 ancestors some time in the Late Permian
Permian

The PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Roderick Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian system" after the ancient kingdom...
 (roughly 250 million years ago). These reptile
Reptile

Reptiles, or members of the class Reptilia, are air-breathing, cold-blooded vertebrates that have skin covered in scale as opposed to hair or feathers....
s, which include members of the family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 Proterosuchidae
Proterosuchidae

Proterosuchidae are an early, possibly paraphyletic, assemblage of Basal archosauriformes whose fossils are known from the Latest Permian of Russia and the Early Triassic of southern Africa, Russia, China, Australia, and Antarctica....
 and more advanced forms, were originally superficially crocodile-like predatory semi-aquatic animals about 1.5 meters long, with a sprawling elbows-out stance and long snouts. Unlike the bulk of their therapsid contemporaries, the Proterosuchids happily survived the catastrophe at the end of the Permian
Permian-Triassic extinction event

The Permian?Triassic extinction event, informally known as the Great Dying, was an extinction event that occurred , forming the boundary between the Permian and Triassic geologic periods....
, perhaps because they were opportunistic scavengers, perhaps because they could retreat into water to find respite from an overheated climate. Any such scenarios are hypothetical; what is clearer is that these animals were highly successful in their new environment, and evolved quickly. Within a few million years at the opening of the Triassic
Triassic

The Triassic is a geologic period that extends from about 251 to 199 annum . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic....
, the Proterosuchids had given rise to the Erythrosuchidae
Erythrosuchidae

Erythrosuchidae are a family of large Basal archosauromorph carnivores that lived from the later Early Triassic to the early Middle Triassic ....
 (the first sauropsids to totally dominate their environment), who in turn were the ancestors of the small agile Euparkeriidae
Euparkeriidae

The Euparkeriidae are a family of small Basal archosauromorph carnivores which lived from the Early Triassic to the Middle Triassic . Their fossil remains are known so far from South Africa and Russia....
, from whom a number of successfully more advanced families - the Archosaur
Archosaur

Archosaurs are a group of diapsid reptiles represented by modern birds and crocodilians. This group also includes extinct non-avian dinosaurs, pterosaurs and relatives of crocodiles....
s proper - evolved rapidly to fill empty ecological niches in the devastated global system.

Pre-Euparkeria
Euparkeria

Euparkeria , meaning "Parker's good animal", named in honor of W.K. Parker, was a small African reptile of the early Triassic period between 248-245 million years ago, close to the ancestry of the archosaurs....
 Archosauriformes were in the past included in the suborder Proterosuchia
Proterosuchia

Proterosuchia refers to one of the Scientific classification of Thecodontia; specifically the most primitive and ancestral forms. These were primitive, vaguely crocodile-like, archosaurs that mostly lived during the Early Triassic period....
 of the order Thecodont
Thecodont

Thecodont , now considered an obsolete term, was formerly used to describe a diverse range of early archosaurs that first appeared in the Latest Permian and flourished until the end of the Triassic period....
ia. Under the cladistic
Cladistics

Cladistics is the hierarchical classification of species based on evolutionary ancestry. Cladistics is distinguished from other taxonomic systems because it focuses on evolution rather than similarities between species, and because it places heavy emphasis on objective, quantitative analysis....
 methodology, the Proterosuchia are rejected as a paraphyletic assemblage, and the pre-Archosaurian taxa are simply considered as basal Archosauriformes.

Taxonomy

  • Class Sauropsida
    • Infraclass Archosauromorpha
      Archosauromorpha

      Archosauromorpha is an Infraclass of diapsid reptiles that first appeared during the late Permian and became more common during the Triassic. Included in this infraclass are the orders Rhynchosauria, Trilophosauridae, Prolacertiformes, Archosauriformes, and, tentatively, the Choristodera....
      • (unranked) ARCHOSAURIFORMES
        • Uatchitodon
        • Family Proterosuchidae
          Proterosuchidae

          Proterosuchidae are an early, possibly paraphyletic, assemblage of Basal archosauriformes whose fossils are known from the Latest Permian of Russia and the Early Triassic of southern Africa, Russia, China, Australia, and Antarctica....
          • Archosaurus
            Archosaurus

            Archosaurus is an extinct genus of archosauriform reptile.See also*Proterosuchus...
          • Chasmatosaurus
            Chasmatosaurus

            Chasmatosaurus is an extinct genus of archosauriform reptile that grew about 4 m long.Also called Proterosuchus, Chasmatosaurus was a crocodile-like creature that probably hunted like its extant descendants, attacking drinking prey on the waterside....
          • Chasmatosuchus
            Chasmatosuchus

            Chasmatosuchus was a large archosauriformes reptile from the early Triassic period of South Africa and China. It is one of the earliest well-known archosauriforms....
          • Kalisuchus
            Kalisuchus

            Kalisuchus rewanensis was an archosaur of the family Proterosuchidae, known from remains unearthed from the Arcadia Formation of the Early Triassic of the Crater, Southwest of Rolleston, south central Queensland, Australia....
          • Proterosuchus
            Proterosuchus

            Proterosuchus was the largest land reptile during the Early Triassic period, equivalent in size to today's Komodo Dragons. It looked somewhat similar to a primitive crocodile, and shared many of their modern features like long jaws, powerful neck muscles, short legs and a lengthy tail, while retaining several of its own unique features su...
          • Tasmaniosaurus
            Tasmaniosaurus

            Tasmaniosaurus triassicus is an archosaur of the family Proterosuchidae, known from the Knocklofty Formation of West Hobart, Tasmania, Australia....
        • Family Erythrosuchidae
          Erythrosuchidae

          Erythrosuchidae are a family of large Basal archosauromorph carnivores that lived from the later Early Triassic to the early Middle Triassic ....
          • Fugusuchus
          • Garjainia
          • Erythrosuchus
            Erythrosuchus

            Erythrosuchus is an extinct genus of archosaur reptile that was about 5 m long and 2,10 m tall.Erythrosuchus was the largest predator of its time....
          • Shanshisuchus
            Shanshisuchus

            Shanshisuchus is an extinct genus of archosauromorph reptile....
          • Vjushkovia
            Vjushkovia

            Vjushkovia is an extinct genus of Erythrosuchidae....
        • Heleosaurus
        • Family Euparkeriidae
          Euparkeriidae

          The Euparkeriidae are a family of small Basal archosauromorph carnivores which lived from the Early Triassic to the Middle Triassic . Their fossil remains are known so far from South Africa and Russia....
          • Dorosuchus
          • Halazaisuchus
          • Osmolskina
            Osmolskina

            Osmolskina is a genus of Archosauriformes reptile which lived during the Early Triassic in what is now Poland. The type species, Osmolskina czatkowicensis, was described by Borsuk-Bialynicka and Susan Evans in 2003....
          • Wangisuchus
          • Xilousuchus
          • Euparkeria
            Euparkeria

            Euparkeria , meaning "Parker's good animal", named in honor of W.K. Parker, was a small African reptile of the early Triassic period between 248-245 million years ago, close to the ancestry of the archosaurs....
        • (unranked)
          • Turfanosuchus
            Turfanosuchus

            Turfanosuchus is a genus of archosauriform reptile which lived during the Middle Triassic of northwestern China. The type species, T. dabanensis, was described by Yang Zhongjian in 1973, based on a partially complete but disarticulated fossil skeleton ....
          • Yonghesuchus
          • Family Proterochampsidae
            • Tropidosuchus
            • Cerritosaurus
            • Chanaresuchus
            • Gualosuchus
            • Proterochampsa
              Proterochampsa

              Proterochampsa is a genus of proterosuchidae archosauromorpha from the Late Triassic of Argentina....
          • (unranked) Archosauria [Crown group Archosauria = Avesuchia]


Literature

  • Gauthier, J. A. 1986. "Saurischian monophyly and the origin of birds". Memoirs of the California Academy of Science 8:1–55
  • Gauthier, J. A., Kluge A. G. , and Rowe, T. (1988) "Amniote phylogeny and the importance of fossils". Cladistics 4:105–209


External links