Crurotarsi

The Crurotarsi are one of the two main groups of archosaurs. It includes the archosaurs (living today are crocodiles and birds). It also includes all their ancestors and relatives right back to the early Triassic period, including the Pseudosuchia.^[1]

Crurotarsans Temporal range: Lower Triassic–Present, 250–0 mya
Life restoration of Protome batalaria
Life restoration of Ornithosuchus woodwardi
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Clade:	Archosauriformes
Clade:	Crurotarsi Sereno & Arcucci, 1990
Subgroups
†Omosaurus †Phytosauria Archosauria Avemetatarsalia Pseudosuchia

Crurotarsi:

• Avemetatarsalia
  • †Pterosauria
  • †Dinosauria
    • Aves (birds)
• The crocodile line Pseudosuchia
  • †Phytosauria: semi-aquatic long-snouted types
  • †Aetosauria: quadrupedal armoured herbivores
  • †Ornithosuchidae: look rather like dinosaurs
  • Crocodylomorpha (Crocodilia and their ancestors)
  • †Rauisuchia ? uncertain group, includes some large-bodied quadrupedal predators

Both main groups of Archosaurs are defined by features of their ankle joints.^[2][3]