Protecovasaurus

Protecovasaurus is a genus of archosaurian reptile from the Late Triassic Tecovas Formation of the southwestern United States. It was initially described as a basal ornithischian dinosaur, but was redescribed as a non-dinosaurian archosaur by Irmis et al. (2006). The type species, Protecovasaurus lucasi, was formally described by Andrew B. Heckert in 2004.

Protecovasaurus Temporal range: Late Triassic, 221.5–212 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Clade:	Diapsida
Clade:	incertae sedis
Genus:	†Protecovasaurus Heckert, 2004
Species
P. lucasi Heckert, 2004 (type)

Its name, Protecovasaurus, means "before Tecovasaurus". Tecovas was the formation the holotype specimen was found in.