Archosaurs are a group of diapsid amniotes whose living representatives consist of modern birds and crocodilians. This group also includes all extinct non-avian dinosaurs, many extinct crocodilian relatives, and pterosaurs. Archosauria, the archosaur clade, is a crown group that includes the most recent common ancestor of living birds and crocodilians. It includes two main clades: Crurotarsi, which includes crocodilians and their extinct relative...
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Archosaurs are a group of diapsid amniotes whose living representatives consist of modern birds and crocodilians. This group also includes all extinct non-avian dinosaurs, many extinct crocodilian relatives, and pterosaurs. Archosauria, the archosaur clade, is a crown group that includes the most recent common ancestor of living birds and crocodilians. It includes two main clades: Crurotarsi, which includes crocodilians and their extinct relatives, and Avemetatarsalia, which includes pterosaurs and dinosaurs (of which birds are the only living clade).
Archosaurs can be distinguished from other tetrapods on the basis of several synapomorphies, or shared characteristics first found in a common ancestor. The simplest and most widely-agreed synapomorphies of archosaurs include teeth set in sockets, antorbital and mandibular fenestrae (openings in front of the eyes and in the jaw, respectively), and a fourth trochanter (a prominent ridge on the femur). Being set in sockets, the teeth were...
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