Phytosauria

Phytosaurs are an extinct group of large, mostly semiaquatic Late Triassic archosauriform or basal archosaurian reptiles. Phytosaurs belong to the order Phytosauria and are sometimes referred to as parasuchians. Phytosauria, Parasuchia, Parasuchidae, and Phytosauridae have often been considered equivalent groupings containing the same species. Some recent studies have offered a more nuanced approach, defining Parasuchidae and Phytosauridae as nested clades within Phytosauria as a whole. The clade Phytosauria was defined by Paul Sereno in 2005 as Rutiodon carolinensis and all taxa more closely related to it than to Aetosaurus ferratus, Rauisuchus tiradentes, Prestosuchus chiniquensis, Ornithosuchus woodwardi, or Crocodylus niloticus. Phytosaurs were long-snouted and heavily armoured, bearing a remarkable resemblance to modern crocodilians in size, appearance, and lifestyle, as an example of convergence or parallel evolution.

Phytosauria

Smokeybjb · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikidata/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Sits inside
PseudosuchiaPBDB
Diet
carnivorePBDB
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Osteichthyes
Environment
terrestrialPBDB, for Diapsida

Time the record covers

At least 49 million years on record.

The record covers at least 248.6 Mya to 199.5 Mya. No occurrence read is dated outside 250.8 Mya to 174.7 Mya.

Permian — about 0 of 547 occurrencesEarly Triassic — about 1 of 547 occurrencesMiddle Triassic — about 2 of 547 occurrencesMiddle TriassicLate Triassic — about 540 of 547 occurrencesLate TriassicEarly Jurassic — about 4 of 547 occurrencesEarly JurassicMiddle Jurassic — about 0 of 547 occurrences252–250 Mya — about 0.5 occurrences250–247 Mya — about 0.5 occurrences247–244 Mya — about 0.5 occurrences244–242 Mya — about 0.5 occurrences242–239 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences239–236 Mya — about 5 occurrences236–234 Mya — about 23 occurrences234–231 Mya — about 24 occurrences231–229 Mya — about 24 occurrences229–226 Mya — about 37 occurrences226–223 Mya — about 48 occurrences223–221 Mya — about 48 occurrences221–218 Mya — about 48 occurrences218–215 Mya — about 48 occurrences215–213 Mya — about 53 occurrences213–210 Mya — about 52 occurrences210–207 Mya — about 50 occurrences207–205 Mya — about 43 occurrences205–202 Mya — about 29 occurrences202–200 Mya — about 11 occurrences200–197 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences197–194 Mya — about 0.5 occurrences194–192 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences192–189 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences189–186 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences186–184 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences184–181 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences181–178 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences178–176 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences176–173 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences248.6 Mya199.5 Mya252 Mya173 Mya

547 occurrences of Phytosauria on record, most of them in the Late Triassic. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

547 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Found in

76 formations

Chinle — 34.44°N, 109.46°WChinle — 36.32°N, 106.47°WChinle — 34.94°N, 109.77°WChinle — 35.03°N, 109.83°WChinle — 37.80°N, 110.33°WChinle — 35.09°N, 109.79°WChinle — 34.53°N, 109.32°WChinle — 35.12°N, 110.55°WChinle — 38.00°N, 111.13°WChinle — 34.83°N, 109.82°WChinle — 34.51°N, 109.36°WChinle — 35.47°N, 108.56°WChinle — 35.41°N, 108.47°WChinle — 35.84°N, 111.25°WChinle — 36.09°N, 111.36°WChinle — 36.07°N, 111.34°WChinle — 35.90°N, 111.29°WChinle — 35.65°N, 111.12°WChinle — 38.44°N, 109.93°WChinle — 35.38°N, 109.37°WChinle — 34.68°N, 109.58°WChinle — 35.02°N, 109.89°WChinle — 34.97°N, 109.98°WChinle — 34.92°N, 109.91°WChinle — 34.82°N, 109.90°WChinle — 34.94°N, 109.74°WChinle — 34.65°N, 109.58°WChinle — 35.33°N, 109.17°WChinle — 36.00°N, 109.45°WChinle — 35.94°N, 109.54°WChinle — 36.42°N, 109.33°WChinle — 36.45°N, 109.57°WChinle — 36.35°N, 109.47°WChinle — 34.83°N, 109.50°WChinle — 34.40°N, 109.60°WChinle — 36.50°N, 109.42°WChinle — 35.93°N, 111.40°WChinle — 35.87°N, 110.97°WChinle — 35.84°N, 111.30°WChinle — 35.47°N, 108.53°WChinle — 36.58°N, 106.83°WChinle — 35.05°N, 109.73°WChinle — 34.90°N, 107.73°WChinle — 36.32°N, 106.43°WChinle — 35.40°N, 108.22°WChinle — 36.26°N, 106.81°WChinle — 36.38°N, 109.57°WChinle — 38.86°N, 109.67°WChinle — 35.56°N, 106.82°WChinle — 35.60°N, 106.86°WChinle — 37.27°N, 109.68°WChinle — 38.15°N, 109.21°WChinle — 36.10°N, 106.20°WRedonda — 34.98°N, 103.33°WRedonda — 34.94°N, 103.43°WRedonda — 34.97°N, 103.46°WRedonda — 35.07°N, 103.63°WRedonda — 35.00°N, 103.67°WLöwenstein — 49.06°N, 8.98°ELöwenstein — 48.08°N, 8.64°ELöwenstein — 48.11°N, 8.69°ELöwenstein — 49.10°N, 9.38°ELöwenstein — 48.76°N, 9.14°ELöwenstein — 48.74°N, 9.13°ELöwenstein — 49.03°N, 8.97°ELöwenstein — 48.76°N, 9.21°ELöwenstein — 48.73°N, 9.00°ELöwenstein — 48.58°N, 8.93°EBluewater Creek — 35.42°N, 108.49°WBluewater Creek — 35.43°N, 108.57°WBluewater Creek — 34.90°N, 107.73°WTecovas — 33.43°N, 101.16°WTecovas — 34.98°N, 101.66°WTecovas — 33.42°N, 101.15°WTecovas — 33.52°N, 101.14°WTecovas — 33.61°N, 101.14°WTecovas — 33.58°N, 101.17°WTecovas — 35.37°N, 102.17°WTecovas — 33.67°N, 100.83°WGarita Creek — 35.24°N, 105.79°WGarita Creek — 35.48°N, 105.88°WGarita Creek — 35.28°N, 104.37°WGarita Creek — 35.35°N, 104.52°WGarita Creek — 35.33°N, 104.33°WGarita Creek — 35.28°N, 104.55°WPopo Agie — 43.54°N, 109.64°WPopo Agie — 43.10°N, 109.15°WPopo Agie — 43.70°N, 108.68°WPopo Agie — 42.73°N, 108.68°WPopo Agie — 42.83°N, 108.83°WPopo Agie — 43.17°N, 109.18°WPopo Agie — 43.55°N, 109.17°WPopo Agie — 40.45°N, 109.30°WColorado City — 32.17°N, 101.25°WColorado City — 32.18°N, 101.25°WColorado City — 32.82°N, 101.43°WColorado City — 32.13°N, 101.25°WColorado City — 32.00°N, 101.17°WCooper Canyon — 33.52°N, 101.32°WCooper Canyon — 33.11°N, 101.45°WCooper Canyon — 33.00°N, 101.15°WCooper Canyon — 33.45°N, 101.44°WHassberge — 49.84°N, 10.48°EHassberge — 50.01°N, 10.67°EBull Canyon — 35.37°N, 103.38°WBull Canyon — 34.98°N, 104.15°WBull Canyon — 35.16°N, 103.49°WBull Canyon — 34.95°N, 104.68°WSanta Rosa — 35.24°N, 105.79°WSanta Rosa — 35.53°N, 105.75°WSanta Rosa — 35.46°N, 105.87°WSanta Rosa — 35.37°N, 105.85°WNew Oxford — 40.05°N, 76.77°WNew Oxford — 40.02°N, 76.73°WPassaic — 40.57°N, 75.10°WPassaic — 40.83°N, 74.11°WPassaic — 40.24°N, 75.59°WPassaic — 40.79°N, 74.15°WPassaic — 40.49°N, 75.52°WMaleri — 19.13°N, 79.67°EMaleri — 19.17°N, 79.67°EMaleri — 19.22°N, 79.58°ETimezgadiouine — 31.03°N, 9.01°WTimezgadiouine — 31.06°N, 8.97°WTimezgadiouine — 31.20°N, 9.00°WTimezgadiouine — 30.81°N, 9.10°WTiki — 23.93°N, 81.37°ETiki — 23.91°N, 81.33°EPekin — 35.56°N, 79.28°WPekin — 35.20°N, 79.87°WPekin — 35.00°N, 80.08°WSloan Canyon — 36.94°N, 103.15°WSloan Canyon — 36.95°N, 102.26°WSloan Canyon — 36.92°N, 103.50°WSloan Canyon — 36.89°N, 103.35°WExter — 48.56°N, 9.07°EExter — 48.55°N, 9.07°EExter — 51.57°N, 9.05°ELockatong — 40.81°N, 74.02°WLockatong — 40.18°N, 75.31°WLockatong — 40.42°N, 75.06°WMagnesian Conglomerate — 51.47°N, 2.62°WFalling Creek — 37.83°N, 77.43°WCumnock — 36.49°N, 79.32°WCumnock — 35.62°N, 79.10°WCumnock — 35.55°N, 79.25°WCumnock — 35.56°N, 79.29°W

Loading coastlines…

The named rock units Phytosauria has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 52 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 24 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Phytosauria and its relatives

Late Triassic

Where Phytosauria and its relatives were recorded in the Late Triassic.

Found in the same rock

454 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 434 sites for Phytosauria, and this reads 240 of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

224 references

Each of the 547 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. 212 further references are not listed. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content1

Picture of Phytosauria

Credit
Smokeybjb
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0
Commercial use
the licence allows it

No 3D scan of Phytosauria was found in Sketchfab.

Smithsonian Open Access and MorphoSource were not reached for this taxon, so this list is what the others held rather than everything there is.

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itPseudosuchia through timeFormations of the Late TriassicThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. (Jaeger 1828)