Life restoration of Protome batalaria, a phytosaur
Life restoration of Ornithosuchus woodwardi, a pseudosuchian archosaur
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Reptilia
Clade:
Archosauromorpha
Clade:
Archosauriformes
Clade:
Eucrocopoda
Clade:
Crurotarsi Sereno & Arcucci, 1990
Subgroups
†Omosaurus
†Phytosauria
Archosauria
Avemetatarsalia
Pseudosuchia
Crurotarsi is a clade of archosauriform reptiles that includes crocodilians and stem-crocodilians and possibly bird-line archosaurs too if the extinct, crocodile-like phytosaurs are more distantly related to crocodiles than traditionally thought.[1] Prior to 2011, the group had invariably included only archosaurs closer to crocodilians than to birds and other dinosaurs. An equivalent term for the crocodilian side of the archosaur family tree is Pseudosuchia. This traditional definition of Crurotarsi assumed that phytosaurs were crown-group archosaurs and more closely related to crocodilians than to birds. However, a 2011 study argued that the phytosaur lineage evolved prior to the split between birds and crocodilians. This would mean that phytosaurs were not true archosaurs, and therefore could not be considered representatives of croc-line archosaurs.[1]
The name Crurotarsi is derived from the Latin word crus (lower leg) and the Greek word tarsos (ankle). It refers to the specialized articulation (a crurotarsal joint) between the lower leg (specifically the fibula) and the ankle (specifically the calcaneum) which is present in the skeletons of reptiles such as suchians and phytosaurs. In their ankle joint, a hemicylindrical condyle on the calcaneum articulates into a concave area on the fibula.[2][3]
^ abCite error: The named reference NSJ11 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference sereno1990 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Sereno, Paul (1991). "Basal archosaurs: phylogenetic relationships and functional implications". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 11 (Suppl. 4): 1–51. doi:10.1080/02724634.1991.10011426.
Crurotarsi is a clade of archosauriform reptiles that includes crocodilians and stem-crocodilians and possibly bird-line archosaurs too if the extinct...
subset of the group. The clade Pseudosuchia is potentially equivalent to Crurotarsi even though the latter has a different, node-based definition: "all taxa...
They were the first to erect the clade Crurotarsi, while Ornithodira was named by Gauthier in 1986. Crurotarsi and Ornithodira replaced Pseudosuchia and...
the definition of the clade Crurotarsi would change, as it is often defined by the inclusion of phytosaurs. Thus, Crurotarsi would include phytosaurs and...
have ever been included in the clade Crurotarsi, excluding purely vernacular terms. Under some definitions Crurotarsi includes all archosaurs, but this list...
poorly-developed trochanter. Like Turfanosuchus and other members of the Crurotarsi, Gracilisuchus has a "crocodile-normal" ankle joint, with the astragalus...
numerous specimens and remains. Rauisuchia 1959 in paleontology Pseudosuchia Crurotarsi Reig, O. A. (1959). "Primeros datos descriptivos sobre nuevos arcosaurios...
organisms that showed similar characteristics of Crocodilians were the Crurotarsi, who appeared during the early Triassic 250 million years ago. This quickly...
heel to which muscles can attach. A group of archosauriform diapsids, Crurotarsi (including living crocodilians and their extinct relatives) is named after...
paleobiogeography, and evolution of the Late Triassic Aetosauria (Archosauria: Crurotarsi)". Zentralblatt für Geologie und Paläontologie, Teil I. 11–12: 1539–1587...
2006 China Guanling Formation (Panxian biota) Anisian Indeterminate Crurotarsi Poposauroidea A small, gracile archosaur, the only known "rauisuchians"...
Barberena (1999) Kischlat E-E, Barberena MC. Prestosuchus chiniquensis (Crurotarsi, Archosauria) does not need a neotype! Paleontologia em Destaque. 1999;14:53...
Global Information
