Azendohsauridae

Azendohsauridae is a family of allokotosaurian archosauromorphs that lived during the Middle to Late Triassic period, around 242-216 million years ago. The family was originally named solely for the eponymous Azendohsaurus, marking out its distinctiveness from other allokotosaurs, but the family now includes four other genera: the basal genus Pamelaria, the large horned herbivore Shringasaurus, and two carnivorous genera grouped into the subfamily-level subclade Malerisaurinae, Malerisaurus and Puercosuchus, and potentially also the dubious genus Otischalkia. Most fossils of azendohsaurids have a Gondwanan distribution, with multiple species known from India, across Morocco and Madagascar in Africa and in Brazil in South America, although fossils of malerisaurine azendohsaurids have also been found in the Southwestern United States of North America.

Azendohsaurids are notable for the various dinosaur-like traits found in some species, including the sauropodomorph-like neck, jaws and teeth of Azendohsaurus, the ceratopsid-like horns of Shringasaurus, and theropod-like teeth of Puercosuchus. These traits are all convergently evolved with later dinosaurs, and some similarities are so striking that it is difficult to distinguish isolated azendohsaurid teeth and jaw bones from those of dinosaurs. Indeed, Azendohsaurus itself was initially described as a herbivorous dinosaur until better remains of its skull and skeleton were found.