Diandongosuchus

Diandongosuchus
Temporal range: Middle Triassic 242–237 Ma
Skull in Beijing Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Archosauromorpha
Clade: Archosauriformes
Order: Phytosauria
Genus: Diandongosuchus
Li et al., 2012
Type species
Diandongosuchus fuyuanensis
Li et al., 2012

Diandongosuchus is an extinct genus of archosauriform reptile, possibly a member of the Phytosauria, known from the Middle Triassic of China. The type species Diandongosuchus fuyuanensis was named in 2012 from the Zhuganpo Formation of Yunnan Province. It is a marine species that shows similarities with another Chinese Triassic species called Qianosuchus mixtus, although it has fewer adaptations toward marine life. It was originally classified as the basal-most member of the pseudosuchian clade Poposauroidea.[1] However, a subsequent study conducted by Stocker et al. (2016, 2017) indicated it to be the basalmost known phytosaur instead.[2][3]

  1. ^ Li, C.; Wu, X. C.; Zhao, L. J.; Sato, T.; Wang, L. T. (2012). "A new archosaur (Diapsida, Archosauriformes) from the marine Triassic of China". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 32 (5): 1064. doi:10.1080/02724634.2012.694383. S2CID 86797826.
  2. ^ Michelle R. Stocker; Sterling J. Nesbitt; Li-Jun Zhao; Xiao-Chun Wu; Chun Li (2016). "Mosaic evolution in Phytosauria: the origin of long-snouted morphologies based on a complete skeleton of a phytosaur from the Middle Triassic of China". Society of Vertebrate Paleontology 76th Annual Meeting Program & Abstracts: 232. Archived from the original on 2016-10-18. Retrieved 2016-10-30.
  3. ^ Michelle R. Stocker; Li-Jun Zhao; Sterling J. Nesbitt; Xiao-Chun Wu; Chun Li (2017). "A Short-Snouted, Middle Triassic Phytosaur and its Implications for the Morphological Evolution and Biogeography of Phytosauria". Scientific Reports. 7: Article number 46028. Bibcode:2017NatSR...746028S. doi:10.1038/srep46028. PMC 5385495. PMID 28393843.