Protosuchia
Protosuchia is a group of extinct Mesozoic crocodyliforms. They were small in size and terrestrial. In phylogenetic terms, Protosuchia is considered an informal group because it is a grade of basal crocodyliforms, not a true clade.Classification
Recent phylogenetic analyses have not supported Protosuchia as a natural group. However, two studies found a clade of Late Triassic-Early Jurassic animals:
- Edentosuchus
- Hemiprotosuchus
- Orthosuchus
- Protosuchus
Both of these studies also found a clade more closely related to Hsisosuchus and Mesoeucrocodylia consisting of Late Jurassic-Late Cretaceous genera:
- Neuquensuchus
- Shantungosuchus
- Sichuanosuchus
- Zosuchus
However, other possible protosuchians from the Late Cretaceous of China-Mongolia, the Gobiosuchidae, have been found to be either intermediate between these two clades, or members of the Sichuanosuchus clade. There is also another family of Late Jurassic-Late Cretaceous genera, the Shartegosuchidae.
Below is a cladogram from Fiorelli and Calvo. Protosuchians are marked by the green bracket.
