Sphodrosaurus

Sphodrosaurus^[1][2] is an extinct genus of basal archosauriform reptiles from the Late Triassic-aged New Oxford Formation (not the Brunswick Formation as initially suggested) of Pennsylvania. The type species is S. pennsylvanicus, described by Edwin Colbert in 1960.^[3] The holotype (NMN, Franklin and Marshall College 2321; the cast is listed under AMNH 7601) consists of a partial skeleton including the back of the skull, the vertebral column, all of the ribs, all of the hindlimbs and part of the upper forelimbs; Sphodrosaurus was originally believed to have been a member of the Procolophonidae^[3] while more recently Sphodrosaurus was believed to be a basal member of the Diapsida by most authors starting with Sues et al. (1993),^[4] or a member of the Rhynchosauria (Baird, 1986^[5]). In 2022, Ezcurra & Sues redescribed the holotype in detail and placed it in a phylogenetic analysis with other Triassic diapsid reptiles, where it was found as the basalmost doswellid.^[6]

Sphodrosaurus Temporal range: Late Triassic, ~230–205.6 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Fossil
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Clade:	Archosauromorpha
Clade:	Archosauriformes
Genus:	†Sphodrosaurus Colbert, 1960
Species:	†S. pennsylvanicus
Binomial name
†Sphodrosaurus pennsylvanicus Colbert, 1960