Crocodylomorpha

Crocodylomorpha is a group of pseudosuchian archosaurs that includes the crocodilians and their extinct relatives. They were the only members of Pseudosuchia to survive the end-Triassic extinction. Extinct crocodylomorphs were considerably more ecologically diverse than modern crocodilians. The earliest and most primitive crocodylomorphs are represented by "sphenosuchians", a paraphyletic assemblage containing small-bodied, slender forms with elongated limbs that walked upright, which represents the ancestral morphology of Crocodylomorpha. These forms persisted until the end of the Jurassic. During the Jurassic, crocodylomorphs morphologically diversified into numerous niches, with the subgroups Neosuchia (which includes modern crocodilians) and the extinct Thalattosuchia adapting to aquatic life, while some terrestrial groups adopted herbivorous and omnivorous lifestyles. Terrestrial crocodylomorphs would continue to co-exist alongside aquatic forms until becoming extinct during the Miocene.

== Evolutionary history == left|thumb|Life restoration of Hesperosuchus from the [[Late Triassic (Carnian) of North America, an early branching, so-called "sphenosuchian" crocodylomorph|330x330px]] left|thumb|Life restoration of basal crocodylomorph Galahadosuchus. The earliest lineages of Crocodylomorpha are placed into the paraphyletic "Sphenosuchia", which are characterized by slender bodies with elongate legs. The oldest known crocodylomorph is Trialestes, known from the Late Triassic (Carnian-Norian) of Argentina, around 231–225 million years ago, the last groups of "sphenosuchians" persisted until the end of the Jurassic. During the Jurassic, crocodylomorphs diversified, including the emergence of herbivorous and omnivorous forms, as well as the aquatically adapted Neosuchia and Thalattosuchia, with Thalattosuchia and several groups of neosuchians becoming adapted to a marine lifestyle over the Jurassic and Cretaceous During the Cretaceous, the Notosuchia were a diverse group across the Southern Hemisphere occupying many diverse ecologies. Modern crocodilians, a subgroup of Neosuchia, emerged during the Late Cretaceous. Crocodylomorph diversity was severely reduced by the end-Cretaceous extinction event. The last group of terrestrially adapted crocodylomorphs was the Sebecidae, a group of large predatory notosuchians which persisted in South America until the middle Miocene around 12 million years ago.