Proterosuchidae
Sign in to saveProterosuchidae is an early family of basal archosauriforms whose fossils are known from the Late Permian and the Early Triassic. The highest diversity of genera is known from European Russia, but fossils are also known from South Africa, India, China, Australia, Brazil and possibly Argentina. The name comes from Greek πρότερο- ("first") and σοῦχος ("crocodile").
Article
8 sectionsContents
- Description
- Evolutionary history
- Classification
- Phylogeny
- Genera
- References
- Further reading
- External links
Proterosuchidae is an early family of basal archosauriforms whose fossils are known from the Late Permian and the Early Triassic. The highest diversity of genera is known from European Russia, but fossils are also known from South Africa, India, China, Australia, Brazil and possibly Argentina. The name comes from Greek πρότερο- ("first") and σοῦχος ("crocodile").
==Description== thumb|left|Proterosuchus fergusi from the Early Triassic of South Africa They were slender, medium-sized (about long, largest specimens reached ), long-snouted and superficially crocodile-like animals, although they lacked the armoured scutes of true crocodiles, and their skeletal features are much more primitive. The limbs are short and indicate a sprawling posture, like contemporary lizards but unlike most later archosaurs.