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Glite Dictionary
Archosauria

Archosauria

1 9.9
A group of reptiles that includes crocodiles and dinosaurs
  • noun
  • /ˌɑrkəˈsɔriə/
  • Specialized
: arcosaurios
  • Scientists study the Archosauria to learn more about the evolution of reptiles.

Examples

  • The Archosauria group includes fascinating creatures like dinosaurs and crocodiles.

  • With Scleromochlus nesting near the base of the Archosauria (crocodiles + dinosaurs), that puts it or its sisters in the Early Triassic.

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  • Many paleontologists focus on the Archosauria to understand the history of ancient life.

Surface Forms

Archosauria singular
Archosaurias plural

Morphology

Archosauria = archosaur (opaque) = archo + saur + ia

Formed by adding the taxonomic suffix '-ia' to 'archosaur'; the morphological process is regular for scientific group names but the suffix is specialized.

Etymology

The word Archosauria comes from Greek parts archo- meaning 'chief' and -saur meaning 'lizard', the same saur in dinosaur. So Archosauria are the 'chief lizards', a major group of reptiles that includes crocodiles and dinosaurs.