Sphodrosaurus
Sphodrosaurus[1][2] is an extinct genus of basal archosauriform reptiles from the Late Triassic-aged New Oxford Formation (not the Brunswick Formation as initially suggested) of Pennsylvania. The type species is S. pennsylvanicus, described by Edwin Colbert in 1960.[3] The holotype (NMN, Franklin and Marshall College 2321; the cast is listed under AMNH 7601) consists of a partial skeleton including the back of the skull, the vertebral column, all of the ribs, all of the hindlimbs and part of the upper forelimbs; Sphodrosaurus was originally believed to have been a member of the Procolophonidae[3] while more recently Sphodrosaurus was believed to be a basal member of the Diapsida by most authors starting with Sues et al. (1993),[4] or a member of the Rhynchosauria (Baird, 1986[5]). In 2022, Ezcurra & Sues redescribed the holotype in detail and placed it in a phylogenetic analysis with other Triassic diapsid reptiles, where it was found as the basalmost doswellid.[6] References
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