Proterochampsia

Proterochampsia
Temporal range: Middle - Late Triassic, 237–201.3 Ma
Holotype skeleton of Pseudochampsa ischigualastensis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Archosauromorpha
Clade: Archosauriformes
Clade: Eucrocopoda
Clade: Proterochampsia
Bonaparte, 1970
Families
Life restoration of Proterochampsa barrionuevoi

Proterochampsia is a clade of early archosauriform reptiles from the Triassic period. It includes the Proterochampsidae (e.g. Proterochampsa, Chanaresuchus and Tropidosuchus) and probably also the Doswelliidae. Nesbitt (2011) defines Proterochampsia as a stem-based taxon that includes Proterochampsa barrionuevoi and all forms more closely related to it than Euparkeria capensis, Erythrosuchus africanus, Passer domesticus (the House Sparrow), or Crocodylus niloticus (the Nile crocodile). Therefore, the inclusion of Doswelliidae in it is dependent upon whether Doswellia and Proterochampsa form a monophyletic group to the exclusion of Archosauria and other related groups.[1]

  1. ^ Nesbitt, S.J. (2011). "The early evolution of archosaurs: relationships and the origin of major clades". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 352: 1–292. doi:10.1206/352.1. hdl:2246/6112. S2CID 83493714.