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Re: Shuvosaurus, 3rd impressions

However, in related Turfanosuchus (JVP 21(1) covergirl), my candidate
for the basal archosaur, the lacrimal shares the dorsal eyebrow exactly
as in Shuvosaurus, except that the exposure to the frontal is tentative.


*Turfanosuchus* alone may not be able to tell you much.

Wu Xiaochun, Liu Jun & Li Jinling: The anatomy of the first archosauriform (Diapsida) from the terrestrial Upper Triassic of China, Vertebrata PalAsiatica 39(4), 252 -- 264 + Pl. I (?December? 2001)

Abstract: "*Yonghesuchus sangbiensis*, a new genus and species of the Archosauriformes, is erected on the basis of its peculiar cranial features. This taxon represents the first record of tetrapods from the Late Triassic terrestrial deposits of China. Its discovery is significant not only to our study on the phylogeny of the Archosauriformes but also to our understanding of the evolution of the Triassic terrestrial vertebrate faunae in China. The presence of pterygoid teeth may exclude the new form from the [crown group] Archosauria [...certainly it does!], and the apomorphic position of the foramen for the internal carotid artery indicates that the new form appears to be phylogenetically closer to the Archosauria than are *Turfanosuchus* and the Proterochampsidae. Comparisons with these taxa suggest that the *Y. sangbiensis*-bearing Tongchuan Formation is probably of early Late Triassic age."

Material: 2 halfway complete skulls + 1 partial neck.

As reconstructed, the nasal and the prefrontal meet, and the lacrimal does not participate in the dorsal side of the skull. Worse yet, the prefrontal meets the maxilla and separates the orbit from the antorbital fenestra. I wonder how much we can trust the reconstruction...

p. 263: "From the above discussion, *Euparkeria*, *Turfanosuchus dabanensis* (if the intercentrum was present between the post-axial vertebrae), the Proterochampsidae, and *Yonghesuchus* appear to be successively closer in relationship to the Archosauria. This pattern of relationships among these early archosauriforms seems to match their geological occurrences: [...]"