Lesothosaurus is a monospecific genus of ornithischian dinosaur that lived during the Early Jurassic in what is now South Africa and Lesotho. It was named by paleontologist Peter Galton in 1978, the name meaning "lizard from Lesotho". The genus has only one valid species, Lesothosaurus diagnosticus. Lesothosaurus is one of the most completely-known early ornithischians, based on numerous skull and postcranial fossils from the Upper Elliot Formation. It had a simpler tooth and jaw anatomy than later ornithischians, and may have been omnivorous in some parts of the year.
Askeptosaurus is an extinct genus of askeptosauroid, a marine reptile from the extinct order Thalattosauria. Askeptosaurus is known from several well-preserved fossils found in Middle Triassic marine strata in what is now Italy and Switzerland.
Chimaerasuchus is an extinct genus of Chinese crocodyliform from the Early Cretaceous Wulong Formation. The four teeth in the very tip of its short snout gave it a "bucktoothed" appearance. Due its multicusped teeth and marked heterodonty, it is believed to have been an herbivore. Chimaerasuchus was originally discovered in the 1960s but not identified as a crocodyliform until 1995, instead thought to possibly be a multituberculate mammal. It is highly unusual, as only two other crocodyliforms have displayed any characteristics resembling its adaptations to herbivory.
Tasmaniosaurus is an extinct genus of archosauromorph reptile known from the Knocklofty Formation of West Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. The type species is T. triassicus. This genus is notable not only due to being one of the most complete Australian Triassic reptiles known, but also due to being a very close relative of Archosauriformes. Once believed to be a proterosuchid, this taxon is now believed to have been intermediate between advanced non-archosauriform archosauromorphs such as Prolacerta, and basal archosauriforms such as Proterosuchus. Features traditionally used to define Archosauria and later Archosauriformes, such as the presence of an antorbital fenestra and serrated teeth, are now known to have evolved prior to those groups due to their presence in Tasmaniosaurus.
Mahajangasuchus is an extinct genus of crocodyliform which had blunt, conical teeth. The type species, M. insignis, lived during the Late Cretaceous; its fossils have been found in the Maevarano Formation in northern Madagascar. It was a fairly large predator, measuring up to 4 metres (13 ft) long.
Hupehsuchia is an order of diapsid reptiles closely related to ichthyosaurs. The group was short-lasting, with a temporal range restricted to the late Olenekian age, spanning only a few million years of the Early Triassic. The order gets its name from Hubei Province, China, from which many specimens have been found. They are probable members of the clade Ichthyosauromorpha.
Mandasuchus is an extinct genus of loricatan pseudosuchian from the Manda Formation of Tanzania, which dates back to the Anisian stage of the Middle Triassic. Although this genus was first mentioned by Alan Charig in 1956, a formal description was not published until 2018.
Polonosuchus is a genus of rauisuchid known from the late Triassic of Poland. It was a huge predator about 5–6 metres in length and, like all rauisuchians, was equipped with a large head of long sharp teeth. The legs were placed almost underneath the body, unlike most reptiles, which would have made it quite fast and a powerful runner. The appearance was very similar to that of the more known Postosuchus, of North America, and shared with the latter the ecological niche of the apex predator.
Scythosuchus is an extinct genus of rauisuchid. Remains have been found from Olenekian-age Lower Triassic beds in Russia, hence the name meaning 'Scythian crocodile'. The type and only species is S. basileus, described in 1999. Scythosuchus was between 2 and 3 metres long, and relatively heavily built. It is known from a partial skull, much of the spine, a fragment of the humerus and most of the hind leg and foot. It may have been the same animal as Tsylmosuchus donensis.
Dianopachysaurus is an extinct genus of pachypleurosaur known from the lower Middle Triassic of Yunnan Province, southwestern China. It was found in the Middle Triassic Lagerstätte of the Guanling Formation. It was first named by Jun Liu, Olivier Rieppel, Da-Yong Jiang, Jonathan C. Aitchison, Ryosuke Motani, Qi-Yue Zhang, Chang-Yong Zhou and Yuan-Yuan Sun in 2011 and the type species is Dianopachysaurus dingi, thanking a Professor Ding for his help.
Xilousuchus is an extinct genus of poposauroid from lower Triassic deposits of Fugu County of northeastern Shanxi Province, China. It is known from the holotype, IVPP V 6026, a single well-preserved partial skeleton including the skull. It was found from the Heshanggou Formation of the Ordos Basin, Hazhen commune. It was first named by Xiao-Chun Wu in 1981 and the type species is Xilousuchus sapingensis. Wu (1981) referred Xilousuchus to the Proterosuchia. Gower and Sennikov (1996) found it to be an erythrosuchian based strictly on the braincase. A more detailed re-description of the genus was provided by Nesbitt et al. (2010) and found poposauroid affinities. In his massive revision of archosaurs which included a large cladistic analysis, Sterling J. Nesbitt (2011) found Xilousuchus to be a poposauroid which is most closely related to Arizonasaurus. Xilousuchus is the oldest archosaur to date, although Ctenosauriscus and Vytshegdosuchus might be even older by less than one million year. Since Xilousuchus is a suchian archosaur, its early age suggests that most of the major groups of archosaurs developed by the Early Triassic, soon after the appearance of the first archosaur.
Jesairosaurus is an extinct genus of early archosauromorph reptile known from the Illizi Province of Algeria. It is known from a single species, Jesairosaurus lehmani. Although a potential relative of the long-necked tanystropheids, this lightly-built reptile could instead be characterized by its relatively short neck as well as various skull features.
Diandongosuchus is an extinct genus of archosauriform reptile, possibly a member of the Phytosauria, known from the Middle Triassic of China. The type species Diandongosuchus fuyuanensis was named in 2012 from the Zhuganpo Formation of Yunnan Province. It is a marine species that shows similarities with another Chinese Triassic species called Qianosuchus mixtus, although it has fewer adaptations toward marine life. It was originally classified as the basal-most member of the pseudosuchian clade Poposauroidea. However, a subsequent study conducted by Stocker et al. indicated it to be the basalmost known phytosaur instead.
This glossary explains technical terms commonly employed in the description of dinosaur body fossils. Besides dinosaur-specific terms, it covers terms with wider usage, when these are of central importance in the study of dinosaurs or when their discussion in the context of dinosaurs is beneficial. The glossary does not cover ichnological and bone histological terms, nor does it cover measurements.
Carnufex is an extinct genus of crocodylomorph suchian from the Late Triassic of North America. The genus was first described in 2015 by Zanno et al., who named the binomial Carnufex carolinensis, meaning "Carolina butcher". Two specimens are known, the holotype skull and skeleton NCSM 21558, and the referred humerus NCSM 21623. The specimens are from the Carnian-age Pekin Formation, which dates to 231 million years ago. Based on the holotype, Carnufex would have been about 3 m (9.8 ft) long and 1.5 m (4.9 ft) tall, although it may have gotten larger due to the holotype not being fully grown.
Scutarx is an extinct genus of Aetosauriformes, most commonly regarded by its species name Scutarx deltatylus. Scutarx lived around 230 million years ago during the Carnian and Norian stage of the Late Triassic. Scutarx are “medium sized” paramedian osteoderms belonging to the clade Aetosauria, a heavily armored and more herbivorous cousin of crocodiles.
Gnathovorax is a genus of herrerasaurid saurischian dinosaur from the Santa Maria Formation in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The type and only species is Gnathovorax cabreirai, described by Pacheco et al. in 2019.
Gunakadeit is an extinct genus of thalattosaur. It is known from a single species, Gunakadeit joseeae, which is based on an articulated and mostly complete skeleton from the late Triassic Hound Island Volcanics of Alaska. Gunakadeit possessed a variety of features from the two major suborders of thalattosaurs, Askeptosauroidea and Thalattosauroidea, and it is considered the most basal member of the latter group. Despite this, it is also the youngest known thalattosaur genus, with the group going extinct at the end of the Triassic. Gunakadeit's basal position and relatively recent occurrence implies a 20-million-year ghost lineage connecting it to the rest of Thalattosauria. The skull ends in a sharply pointed and toothless tip like the askeptosauroid Endennasaurus, but unlike Endennasaurus, Gunakadeit had poorly developed joints and was likely exclusively aquatic in behavior.
Polymorphodon is an extinct genus of archosauriform reptile from the Middle Triassic of Germany. The only known species is Polymorphodon adorfi, discovered in Lower Keuper deposits at a quarry in Eschenau, Germany. Polymorphodon is notable for its heterodont dentition, with long and conical premaxillary teeth followed by thin maxillary teeth with large serrations. Maxillary teeth near the back of the mouth are short and leaf-shaped, similar to some living and extinct reptiles with a herbivorous or omnivorous diet. This may suggest that Polymorphodon had some reliance on plants in its diet, a rarity among basal archosauriforms, most of which are carnivores.
Incertovenator is an extinct genus of archosauriform reptile, likely an archosaur, of uncertain affinities. Its unstable position is a result of possessing a number features found in both the bird-line avemetatarsalian archosaurs and the crocodylian-line pseudosuchians. The type and only known species is I. longicollum, which is known from single specimen discovered in the Late Triassic Ischigualasto Formation of Argentina. Incertovenator is known almost entirely by its vertebral column. This indicates that it had a relatively long neck, leading to its uncertain classification due to the convergent evolution of elongated neck vertebrae in both avemetatarsalian and pseudosuchian archosaurs.
