Prestosuchus

Prestosuchus
Temporal range: Middle Triassic (Ladinian), 242–235 Ma
AMNH 3856, a skeletal mount (cast) of Prestosuchus chiniquensis displayed at the American Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Archosauria
Clade: Pseudosuchia
Clade: Loricata
Family: Prestosuchidae
Genus: Prestosuchus
Huene, 1938
Type species
Prestosuchus chiniquensis
Huene, 1938
Other species
Synonyms

Prestosuchus (meaning "Prestes crocodile") is an extinct genus of pseudosuchian in the group Loricata, which also includes Saurosuchus and Postosuchus. It has historically been referred to as a "rauisuchian", and was the defining member of the family Prestosuchidae, though the validity of both of these groups is questionable: Rauisuchia is now considered paraphyletic and Prestosuchidae is polyphyletic in its widest form.[1]

  1. ^ Sterling J. Nesbitt (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.