Aetosaurinae
Encyclopedia
Aetosaurinae is one of the two subfamilies of aetosaur
s, the other being Desmatosuchinae
. It is a stem-based taxon defined as all aetosaurs more closely related to Aetosaurus
than to the last common ancestor of Aetosaurus and Desmatosuchus
. The only synapomorphy
that diagnoses the clade Aetosaurinae is the medial offset of the dorsal eminences of the paramedian osteoderm
s.
Aetosaur
Aetosaurs are an extinct order of heavily armoured, medium- to large-sized Late Triassic herbivorous archosaurs. They have small heads, upturned snouts, erect limbs, and a body covered by plate-like scutes. All aetosaurs belong to the family Stagonolepididae...
s, the other being Desmatosuchinae
Desmatosuchinae
Desmatosuchinae is one of the two subfamilies of aetosaurs, the other being Aetosaurinae. It is a stem-based taxon defined as all aetosaurs more closely related to Desmatosuchus than the last common ancestor of Desmatosuchus and Stagonolepis. All synapomorphies that diagnose the clade can be found...
. It is a stem-based taxon defined as all aetosaurs more closely related to Aetosaurus
Aetosaurus
Aetosaurus is an extinct genus of archosaur reptile belonging to the order Aetosauria. It is generally considered to be the most primitive aetosaur. Three species are currently recognized: A. ferratus, the type species from Germany and Italy; A. crassicauda from Germany; and A. arcuatus from...
than to the last common ancestor of Aetosaurus and Desmatosuchus
Desmatosuchus
Desmatosuchus is an extinct genus of archosaur belonging to the Order Aetosauria. It was one of the largest aetosaurs, being long and about 1.50 m high. It lived during the Late Triassic in Texas....
. The only synapomorphy
Synapomorphy
In cladistics, a synapomorphy or synapomorphic character is a trait that is shared by two or more taxa and their most recent common ancestor, whose ancestor in turn does not possess the trait. A synapomorphy is thus an apomorphy visible in multiple taxa, where the trait in question originates in...
that diagnoses the clade Aetosaurinae is the medial offset of the dorsal eminences of the paramedian osteoderm
Osteoderm
Osteoderms are bony deposits forming scales, plates or other structures in the dermal layers of the skin. Osteoderms are found in many groups of extant and extinct reptiles, including lizards, various groups of dinosaurs , crocodilians, phytosaurs, aetosaurs, placodonts, and hupehsuchians...
s.