Proterochampsia
| Proterochampsia Temporal range: Middle - Late Triassic,
| |
|---|---|
| |
| Life restoration of Proterochampsa barrionuevoi | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Archosauromorpha |
| Clade: | Archosauriformes |
| Clade: | Eucrocopoda |
| Clade: | †Proterochampsia Bonaparte, 1970 |
| Families | |
Proterochampsia is a clade of early archosauriform reptiles from the Triassic period. It includes the genera Proterochampsa, Cerritosaurus, Chanaresuchus, Gualosuchus, Rhadinosuchus, and Tropidosuchus. Nesbitt (2011) defines Proterochampsia as a stem-based taxon that includes Proterochampsa and all forms more closely related to it than Euparkeria, Erythrosuchus, Passer domesticus (the House Sparrow), or Crocodylus niloticus (the Nile crocodile).[1]
Proterochampsians share several distinguishing characteristics, or synapomorphies. A prominent ridge runs along the length of the jugal, a bone below the eye. Another ridge is present on the quadratojugal, a bone positioned toward the back of the skull behind the jugal. There is also a depression on the squamosal bone of the skull roof. The second metatarsal of the foot is wider than the other metatarsals. Proterochampsians lack a fifth digit on the foot; the fifth metatarsal is reduced to a small pointed bone.[1]
Below is a cladogram showing the phylogenetic relationships of proterochampsians from Kischlat and Schultz (1999):[2]
| Proterochampsia | |
References
- ^ a b Nesbitt, S.J. (2011). "The early evolution of archosaurs: relationships and the origin of major clades" (PDF). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 352: 1–292. doi:10.1206/352.1.
- ^ Kischlat, E. (1999). "Phylogenetic analysis of Proterochampsia (Thecodontia: Archosauriformes)". Ameghiniana. 36 (4): 13R.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help)
 | This article about a prehistoric reptile is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |