Belongs within: Archosauromorpha.
Contains: Parasuchia, Pseudosuchia, Ornithodira.
The Archosauriformes are a clade of reptiles united by the presence of an antorbital fenestra in the skull (Benton 2004). This clade has been referred to in the past as the Archosauria but that name is used by most current authors to refer to the restricted crown clade including the birds and crocodiles. The Archosauria sensu stricto also include the extinct dinosaurs and pterosaurs. The two basal lineages within the archosaurs, the Pseudosuchia and Avemetatarsalia, have been distinguished in the past by the conformation of the ankle bones; however, the basal avemetatarsalian (stem-bird) Teleocrater rhadinus retains a plesiomorphic ‘crocodile-normal’ ankle (Nesbitt et al. 2017).
Basal members of the Archosauria include the late Permian and early Triassic Proterosuchidae, of which Proterosuchus is the best known genus (Romer 1972).
Synapomorphies (Benton 2004): Antorbital fenestra present; postfrontal reduced to less than half dimensions of postorbital or absent; ossified laterosphenoid present; prootic midline contact on endocranial cavity floor; teeth with serrated margins; lateral mandibular fenestra present.
<==Archosauriformes [Erythrosuchia, Proterosuchia, Thecodontia]
|--ProterosuchidaeB04
| |--ChasmatosuchusR72
| |--Archosaurus rossicus Tatarinov 1960B93
| `--Proterosuchus [incl. Ankistrodon, Epicampodon]R72
| |--P. fergusi Broom 1903NB17, SC18 [incl. Elaphrosuchus rubidgeiSC18, Chasmatosaurus vanhoepeniSC18]
| `--+--P. alexanderi (Hoffman 1965)NB17, SC18 [=Chasmatosaurus alexanderiSC18]
| `--+--P. goweri Ezcurra & Butler 2015NB17, SC18
| `--Chasmatosaurus Haughton 1924NB17, R72
| |--C. ultimus Young 1964B93
| `--C. yuaniNB17
`--Erythrosuchidae [Crurotarsi]J94
|--Fugusuchus hejiapensis Cheng 1980NB17, B93
`--+--Sarmatosuchus otscheviNB17
`--+--Cuyosuchus Rieg 1961NB17, R72
| `--C. huenei Reig 1961B93
`--+--+--Guchengosuchus shigualensisNB17
| `--+--Garjainia Ochev 1958NB17, G00 [incl. Vjushkovia Huene 1960G00]
| | |--*G. prima Ochev 1958G00 [incl. Vjushkovia triplicostata Huene 1960G00, G. triplicostataV-RR93]
| | `--G. madibaNB17
| `--+--Erythrosuchus Broom 1905NB17, D07
| | `--E. africanus Broom 1905SC18
| `--+--Chalishevia cothurnataNB17
| `--ShansisuchusNB17
| |--*S. shansisuchus [incl. Fenhosuchus cristatus Young 1964]G00
| `--S. heiyuekouensisG00
`--+--Dorosuchus neoetusNB17
|--Asperoris mnyamaNB17
`--+--+--Vancleavea campiKN20
| `--+--+--Tarjadia ruthaeNB17
| | `--Archeopelta arborensisNB17
| `--+--Jaxtasuchus salomoniNB17
| `--Doswellia Weems 1980J94, D07
| `--D. kaltenbachiD07
`--+--+--EuparkeriidaeB93
| | |--Halazhaisuchus giaoensis Wu 1982B93
| | `--Euparkeria Broom 1913KN20, D07 [incl. BrowniellaR72]
| | `--E. capensis Broom 1913B93
| `--+--ParasuchiaKN20
| `--Archosauria [Avesuchia, Ornithosuchia]NB17
| | i. s.: Ponerosteus exogyrarum (n. d.)FR24
| |--PseudosuchiaNS10
| `--Pan-Aves [Avemetatarsalia, Ornithosuchia, Ornithotarsi]FR24
| | i. s.: Mambachiton fiandohanaFR24
| | Incertovenator longicollumFR24
| |--OrnithodiraNB17
| `--AphanosauriaNB17
| |--Spondylosoma Huene 1942NB17, L04
| | `--S. absconditum Huene 1942L04
| `--+--Dongusuchus efremovi Sennikov 1988NB17, G00
| |--Yarasuchus deccanensis Sen 2005NB17
| `--Teleocrater Nesbitt, Butler et al. 2017NB17
| `--*T. rhadinus Nesbitt, Butler et al. 2017NB17
`--ProterochampsidaeB04
|--ProterochampsaNB17
| |--P. barrionuevoi Reig 1959B93
| `--P. nodosaNB17
`--+--Cerritosaurus binsfeldiNB17
`--+--Tropidosuchus romeriNB17
`--+--Pseudochampsa ischigualastensisNB17
`--+--Gualosuchus reigi Romer 1971NB17, B93
`--+--Chanaresuchus bonapartei Romer 1971KN20, B93
`--Rhadinosuchus Huene 1944NB17, R72
`--R. gracilisNB17
Archosauriformes incertae sedis:
SeemanniaR72
CrenelosaurusR72
Ocoyuntaia Rusconi 1947R72
ClarenceaR72
Hypselorhachis mirabilisR72, NB17
Arcticodactylus cromptonellusNB17
Diandongosuchus fuyuanensisNB17
Crosbysaurus harrisaeFR24
Protecovasaurus lucasiFR24
Tecovasaurus murryiFR24
Inorganic: Chasmatosaurus minilorientalus Okamura 1987O87
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
[B93] Benton, M. J. 1993. Reptilia. In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 681–715. Chapman & Hall: London.
[B04] Benton, M. J. 2004. Origin and relationships of Dinosauria. In: Weishampel, D. B., P. Dodson & H. Osmólska (eds) The Dinosauria 2nd ed. pp. 7–19. University of California Press: Berkeley.
[D07] Dixon, D. 2007. The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures. Hermes House: London.
[FR24] Fonseca, A. O., I. J. Reid, A. Venner, R. J. Duncan, M. S. Garcia & R. T. Müller. 2024. A comprehensive phylogenetic analysis on early ornithischian evolution. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 22 (1): 2346577.
[G00] Gower, D. J. 2000. Rauisuchian archosaurs (Reptilia, Diapsida): an overview. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie—Abhandlungen 218 (3): 447–488.
[J94] Juul, L. 1994. The phylogeny of basal archosaurs. Palaeontologia Africana 31: 1–38.
[KN20] Kammerer, C. F., S. J. Nesbitt, J. J. Flynn, L. Ranivoharimanana & A. R. Wyss. 2020. A tiny ornithodiran archosaur from the Triassic of Madagascar and the role of miniaturization in dinosaur and pterosaur ancestry. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 117 (30): 17932–17936.
[L04] Langer, M. C. 2004. Basal Saurischia. In: Weishampel, D. B., P. Dodson & H. Osmólska (eds) The Dinosauria 2nd ed. pp. 25–46. University of California Press: Berkeley.
[NB17] Nesbitt, S. J., R. J. Butler, M. D. Ezcurra, P. M. Barrett, M. R. Stocker, K. D. Angielczyk, R. M. H. Smith, C. A. Sidor, G. Niedźwiedzki, A. G. Sennikov & A. J. Charig. 2017. The earliest bird-line archosaurs and the assembly of the dinosaur body plan. Nature 544: 484–487.
[NS10] Nesbitt, S. J., C. A. Sidor, R. B. Irmis, K. D. Angielczyk, R. M. H. Smith & L. A. Tsuji. 2010. Ecologically distinct dinosaurian sister group shows early diversification of Ornithodira. Nature 464: 95–98.
[O87] Okamura, C. 1987. New facts: Homo and all Vertebrata were born simultaneously in the former Paleozoic in Japan. Original Report of the Okamura Fossil Laboratory 15: 347–573.
[R72] Romer, A. S. 1972. The Chañares (Argentina) Triassic reptile fauna. XVI. Thecodont classification. Breviora 395: 1–24.
[SC18] Simões, T. R., M. W. Caldwell, M. Talanda, M. Bernardi, A. Palci, O. Vernygora, F. Bernardini, L. Mancini & R. L. Nydam. 2018. The origin of squamates revealed by a Middle Triassic lizard from the Italian Alps. Nature 557: 706–709.
[V-RR93] Vickers-Rich, P., & T. H. Rich. 1993. The ICI Australia Catalogue of the Great Russian Dinosaurs Exhibition 1993–1995. Monash University.