Archosaurus

Archosaurus
Temporal range: Late Permian, 252 Ma
Restored skull
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Family: †Proterosuchidae
Subfamily: †Chasmatosuchinae
Genus: †Archosaurus
Tatarinov, 1960
Species:
†A. rossicus
Binomial name
†Archosaurus rossicus
Tatarinov, 1960

Archosaurus (meaning "ruling lizard") is an extinct genus of carnivorous proterosuchid archosauriform reptile. Its fossils are dated to the latest Permian of Russia, it is one of the earliest known archosauriforms. The type and only species is Archosaurus rossicus, known from several fragmentary specimens which cumulatively represent parts of the skull and cervical vertebrae. It would have been 3 m (9 ft 10 in) long when fully grown. Archosaurus is the namesake of the Archosaurus zone (Vyazniki Assemblage), the final Late Permian tetrapod biozone in Russia.

When first described in 1960, Archosaurus was considered the oldest known archosaur and a close relative of Proterosuchus from the Early Triassic. However, Archosauria in modern terms is considered a more restricted group which Archosaurus lies outside of. The "classic" definition of archosaur utilized prior to the widespread use of cladistics is now roughly equivalent to the clade Archosauriformes. Archosaurus is still considered the oldest undisputed archosauriform, as well as one of the few valid members of the family Proterosuchidae.

A 2023 study placed Archosaurus in the new subfamily Chasmatosuchinae within the proterosuchids. This would make Archosaurus significantly derived despite being the oldest known archosauriform, indicating that significant diversification already occurred among proterosuchids during the Permian.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Sennikov, A. G.; Golubev, V. K. (2006). "Vyazniki biotic assemblage of the terminal Permian". Paleontological Journal. 40 (4): S475. Bibcode:2006PalJ...40S.475S. doi:10.1134/S0031030106100078. S2CID 129507095.
  2. 1 2 Paleont. Zh. 1960 (4)
  3. ↑ Sennikov, A.G.; Gower, D.J. (2000). "Early archosaurs from Russia". In Benton, M.J.; Shishkin, M.A.; Unwin, D.M. (eds.). The Age of Dinosaurs in Russia and Mongolia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-54582-2.
  4. 1 2 Tatarinov, L. P. (1960). Otkrytie pseudozhukhii v verkhnei permi SSSR: Paleontologischeskii Zhurnal, 1960, n. 4, p. 74-80.
  5. ↑ Sennikov, A. G.; Golubev, V. K. (2006). "Vyazniki biotic assemblage of the terminal Permian". Paleontological Journal. 40 (4): S475–S481. doi:10.1134/S0031030106100078. ISSN 0031-0301.
  6. ↑ Newell, Andrew J.; Sennikov, Andrey G.; Benton, Michael J.; Molostovskaya, Iya I.; Golubev, Valeriy K.; Minikh, Alla V.; Minikh, Maxim G. (2010). "Disruption of playa–lacustrine depositional systems at the Permo-Triassic boundary: evidence from Vyazniki and Gorokhovets on the Russian Platform". Journal of the Geological Society. 167 (4): 695–716. doi:10.1144/0016-76492009-103. ISSN 0016-7649.
  7. ↑ Gauthier J. A. (1994): The diversification of the amniotes. In: D. R. Prothero and R. M. Schoch (ed.) Major Features of Vertebrate Evolution: 129-159. Knoxville, Tennessee: The Paleontological Society.
  8. ↑ Ezcurra, Martín D. (2016-04-28). "The phylogenetic relationships of basal archosauromorphs, with an emphasis on the systematics of proterosuchian archosauriforms". PeerJ. 4 e1778. doi:10.7717/peerj.1778. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 4860341. PMID 27162705.
  9. ↑ Ezcurra, Martín D.; Bandyopadhyay, Saswati; Sengupta, Dhurjati P.; Sen, Kasturi; Sennikov, Andrey G.; Sookias, Roland B.; Nesbitt, Sterling J.; Butler, Richard J. (25 October 2023). "A new archosauriform species from the Panchet Formation of India and the diversification of Proterosuchidae after the end-Permian mass extinction, Archosaurus is the reptile the archosaur group is named after which includes dinosaurus, birds and crocodylomorphs". Royal Society Open Science. 10 (10). doi:10.1098/rsos.230387. ISSN 2054-5703. PMC 10598453. PMID 37885992.