archosaur
Noun
Meaning
extinct reptiles including: dinosaurs; plesiosaurs; pterosaurs; ichthyosaurs; thecodonts
Source: WordNetSynonyms
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Examples
Dinosaurs diverged from their archosaur ancestors approximately 230 million years ago during the Middle to Late Triassic period, roughly 20 million years after the Permian-Triassic extinction event wiped out an estimated 95% of all life on Earth.
However, both phytosaurs and aetosaurs were among the groups of archosaur reptiles completely wiped out by the end-Triassic extinction event.
Like this archosaur, basal pterosaur lineages have plantigrade hindlimbs that show adaptations for saltitation.
Within the archosaur group, dinosaurs are differentiated most noticeably by their gait.