Suchia
Suchia is a clade of archosaurs that includes all pseudosuchians except for the ornithosuchids. It includes crocodilians and their extinct relatives. It was defined as the least inclusive clade containing Aetosaurus ferratus, Rauisuchus tiradentes, Prestosuchus chiniquensis, Gracilisuchus stipanicicorum, and Crocodylus niloticus (the living Nile crocodile) by Nesbitt (2011).
Classification
It was originally defined by Krebs in 1974. Paul Sereno provided a different definition, which included Gracilisuchus stipanicicorum, Aetosauria, Rauisuchia, Poposauridae, Crocodylomorpha, and all descendants of their common ancestor. Nesbitt (2011) redefined it as the least inclusive clade containing Aetosaurus ferratus, Rauisuchus tiradentes, Prestosuchus chiniquensis, and Crocodylus niloticus (the living Nile crocodile). Suchia, therefore, is a node-based taxon. It includes crocodylomorphs and more basal Triassic forms like aetosaurs and rauisuchians.[1] Butler et al. (2011) found that Suchia includes Gracilisuchus, Turfanosuchus, Revueltosaurus, Aetosauria, Ticinosuchus, and paracrocodylomorphs.[2]
Phylogeny
Below is the cladogram originally identified by Krebs (1974) in his definition of Suchia:[1]
Below is a phylogenetic cladogram by Butler et al. in 2011 showing the cladistics of Archosauriformes, focusing mostly on Pseudosuchia:[2] Clade names follow Nesbitt 2011.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 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: 189. doi:10.1206/352.1. ISSN 0003-0090.
- 1 2 Butler, R.J.; Brusatte, S.J.; Reich, M.; Nesbitt, S.J.; Schoch, R.R.; Hornung, J.J. (2011). Andrew A. Farke, ed. "The Sail-Backed Reptile Ctenosauriscus from the Latest Early Triassic of Germany and the Timing and Biogeography of the Early Archosaur Radiation". PLoS ONE. 6 (10): e25693. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0025693. PMC 3194824
. PMID 22022431.
External links
