Azendohsaurus

Azendohsaurus Temporal range: Late Triassic
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Infraclass:	Archosauromorpha
Genus:	Azendohsaurus
Species
A. laaroussi (type)

Azendohsaurus (meaning "Azendoh lizard") was a genus of herbivorous archosauromorph from the Late Triassic Period of Morocco. The type species (A. laaroussi) is known only from a partial jaw fragment (with some teeth) from Morocco. Azendohsaurus was previously regarded as a dinosaur, as either an ornithischian or a prosauropod. New research (including new material discovered in Madagascar) suggests that Azendohsaurus is not a dinosaur at all, but a non-archosauriform archosauromorph that independently evolved many craniodental characters similar to herbivorous dinosaurs (Irmis et al., 2007; Flynn et al., 2008).

The type specimen, A. laaroussi, was described by J. M. Dutuit in 1972.

References

• Irmis, R.B., Parker, W.G., Nesbitt, S.J., and Liu, J. (2007). Early ornithischian dinosaurs: the Triassic record. Historical Biology 19(1):3-22.
• Flynn, J., Nesbitt, S., Parrish, M., Ranivoharimanana, L. and Wyss, A. (2008). A new species of basal archosauromorph from the Late Triassic of Madagascar. J. Vert. Paleontol. Suppl. 28: 78A.
• Flynn, J. J., Nesbitt, S. J., Parrish, J. M., Ranivoharimanana, L., and A. R. Wyss. (2010). "A new species of Azendohsaurus (Diapsida: Archosauromorpha) from the Triassic Isalo Group of southwestern Madagascar: cranium and mandible." Palaeontology, 53: 669-688.