Protosuchia

Taxobox
name = Protosuchians
fossil_range = Late Triassic - Late Cretaceous

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image_width = 250px
image_caption = "Protosuchus"
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Sauropsida
subclassis = Diapsida
infraclassis = Archosauromorpha
superordo = Crocodylomorpha
subordo = Protosuchia
subordo_authority = Mook, 1934
subdivision_ranks = Families
subdivision =
* Protosuchidae

Protosuchians are early crocodilians that were small in size (~1 metre in length) and terrestrial.

Protosuchian genera

Recent phylogenetic analyses have not supported Protosuchia as a natural group. However, two studies found a clade of Late Triassic-Early Jurassic animals:Pol D, Ji S-a, Clark JM, Chiappe LM. 2004. Basal crocodyliforms from the Lower Cretaceous Tugulu Group (Xinjiang, China), and the phylogenetic position of "Edentosuchus". "Cretaceous Research" 25: 603-622.] Fiorelli LE, Calvo JO. 2007. The first "protosuchian" (Archosauria: Crocodyliformes) from the Cretaceous (Santonian) of Gondwana. "Arquivos do Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro" 65 (4): 417-459.]

*"Orthosuchus"
*"Protosuchus"
*"Hemiprotosuchus"
*"Edentosuchus"

Both of these studies also found a clade more closely related to "Hsisosuchus" and Mesoeucrocodylia consisting of Late Jurassic-Late Cretaceous genera:

*"Zosuchus"
*"Sichuanosuchus"
*"Shantungosuchus"
*"Neuquensuchus"

However, other possible protosuchians from the Late Cretaceous of China-Mongolia, the Gobiosuchidae ("Gobiosuchus" and "Zaraasuchus"), have been found to either intermediate between these two clades, or members of the or the "Sichuanosuchus"-clade.

References