PBDB Taxon

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Anchisauridae (anchisaurid)

Reptilia - Anchisauridae

Taxonomy

Anchisauridae was named by Marsh (1885). Its type is Anchisaurus.

It was synonymized subjectively with Thecodontosauridae by Lydekker (1893); it was reranked as the subfamily Anchisauridae by Nopcsa (1901).

It was assigned to Megalosauridae by Nopcsa (1901); to Plateosauria by Tornier (1913); to Therophagi by Jaekel (1914); to Megalosauria by Lull (1915); to Megalosauria by Baur (1891), Lull (1912) and Lull (1917); to Theropoda by Marsh (1885), Lydekker (1888), Lydekker (1888), Marsh (1895), Marsh (1896), von Zittel (1911) and Van Hoepen (1920); to Pachypodosauria by Matthew (1915) and Nopcsa (1923); to Theropoda by Zittel (1890), Huene (1902), Mansel-Pleydell (1902), Hay (1902), Lambe (1905), Sauvage (1907) and Lull (1924); to Pachypodosauroidea by Nopcsa (1928); to Megalosauroidae by Hay (1930); to Carnosauria by Roxo (1937); to Palaeopoda by Van Heerden (1978); to Phytodinosauria by Bakker (1986); to Anchisauria by Galton et al. (2005); to Prosauropoda by Upchurch et al. (2007); and to Prosauropoda by Lull (1953), Kuhn (1966), Steel (1970), Galton (1971), Benedetto (1973), Galton (1973), Galton (1976), Galton and Cluver (1976), Bonaparte (1978), Anderson and Cruickshank (1978), Benton (1979), Ostrom (1980), Cooper (1981), Olsen and Galton (1984), Russell (1984), Attridge et al. (1985), Galton (1985), Battail (1986), Carroll (1988) and Martínez (2009).

Subtaxa

Actiosaurus, Ammosaurus, Gyposaurus, Megatrisauropus, Senqutrisauropus

Synonyms

Amphisauridae was named by Marsh (1882).

It was replaced with Anchisauridae by Marsh (1885), Hay (1902), Steel (1970) and Cooper (1981).

It was assigned to Theropoda by Sauvage (1882), Marsh (1882), Vetter (1884), Marsh (1884) and Marsh (1884); and to Theropoda by Dollo (1884).
Gryponychidae was named by Huene (1932). It is not extant. Its type is Gryponyx.

It was synonymized subjectively with Palaeosauridae by Romer (1956) and Kuhn (1971); it was synonymized subjectively with Thecodontosauridae by Romer (1966) and Benedetto (1973); it was synonymized subjectively with Plateosauridae by Heerden (1979); it was misspelled as Gryponichidae by Tatarinov (1964), Maleev (1968) and Reig (1970); it was synonymized subjectively with Anchisauridae by Steel (1970), Galton (1973) and Cooper (1981).

It was assigned to Carnosauria by Kuhn (1946); to Carnosauria by Young (1942), Huene (1948) and Haughton and Brink (1954); to Deinodontoidea by Tatarinov (1964); to Megalosauroidea by Maleev (1968); and to Palaeopoda by Reig (1970).
Palaeosauridae was named by Huene (1932).

It was replaced with Palaeosauriscidae by Kuhn (1959) and Kuhn (1966); it was corrected as Paleosauridae by Colbert (1961); it was synonymized subjectively with Gryponichidae by Tatarinov (1964); it was synonymized subjectively with Gryponychidae by Maleev (1968); it was synonymized subjectively with Ornithosuchidae by Steel (1970); it was synonymized subjectively with Thecodontosauridae by Benedetto (1973); it was synonymized subjectively with Anchisauridae by Galton (1973) and Heerden (1979).

It was assigned to Carnosauria by Kuhn (1946) and Parsch (1963); to Carnosauria by Young (1942), Huene (1948), Romer (1956), Colbert (1961) and Walker (1964); to Palaeosauria by Colbert (1964); and to Carnosaurida by Kuhn (1971).
Palaeosauriscidae was named by Kuhn (1959). Its type is Palaeosauriscus.

It was synonymized subjectively with Ornithosuchidae by Steel (1970); it was synonymized subjectively with Palaeosauridae by Kuhn (1971); it was synonymized subjectively with Anchisauridae by Galton (1973) and Heerden (1979).

It was assigned to Tyrannosauroidea by Kuhn (1966); and to Teratosauria by Colbert (1970).

Synonymy list

Year	Name and author
1882	Amphisauridae Marsh
1882	Amphisauridae Sauvage p. 36
1884	Amphisauridae Dollo p. 298
1884	Amphisauridae Marsh p. 69
1884	Amphisauridae Vetter p. 363
1885	Anchisauridae Marsh p. 169
1888	Anchisauridae Lydekker p. 148
1890	Anchisauridae Zittel p. 730
1891	Anchisauridae Baur p. 450
1895	Anchisauridae Marsh
1896	Anchisauridae Marsh p. 239
1901	Anchisauridae Nopcsa p. 195
1902	Anchisauridae Hay p. 491
1902	Anchisauridae Huene
1902	Anchisauridae Mansel-Pleydell p. lxxv
1905	Anchisauridae Lambe p. 48
1907	Anchisauridae Sauvage p. 9
1911	Anchisauridae von Zittel p. 279
1912	Anchisauridae Lull p. 411
1913	Anchisauridae Tornier p. 368
1914	Anchisauridae Jaekel p. 197
1915	Anchisauridae Lull p. 118
1915	Anchisauridae Matthew p. 32
1917	Anchisauridae Lull p. 111
1920	Anchisauridae Van Hoepen p. 140
1923	Anchisauridae Nopcsa p. 125
1924	Anchisauridae Lull p. 229
1928	Anchisauridae Nopcsa p. 182
1930	Anchisauridae Hay p. 170
1932	Gryponychidae Huene
1932	Palaeosauridae Huene
1937	Anchisauridae Roxo p. 65
1942	Gryponychidae Young p. 99
1942	Paleosauridae Young p. 99
1946	Gryponychidae Kuhn p. 65
1946	Palaeosauridae Kuhn p. 65
1948	Gryponychidae Huene p. 89
1948	Palaeosauridae Huene p. 89
1953	Anchisauridae Lull p. 98
1954	Gryponychidae Haughton and Brink p. 4
1956	Palaeosauridae Romer p. 614
1959	Palaeosauriscidae Kuhn p. 425
1961	Paleosauridae Colbert p. 76
1963	Palaeosauridae Parsch p. 4
1964	Palaeosauridae Colbert p. 20 fig. 6
1964	Gryponichidae Tatarinov p. 535
1964	Palaeosauridae Walker p. 105
1966	Palaeosauriscidae Kuhn p. 94
1966	Anchisauridae Kuhn p. 97
1968	Gryponychidae Maleev p. 95
1970	Palaeosauriscidae Colbert p. 27
1970	Gryponychidae Reig p. 276
1970	Anchisauridae Steel p. 47
1971	Anchisauridae Galton p. 790
1971	Palaeosauridae Kuhn p. 16
1973	Anchisauridae Benedetto
1973	Anchisauridae Galton p. 247
1976	Anchisauridae Galton p. 88
1976	Anchisauridae Galton and Cluver p. 132
1978	Anchisauridae Anderson and Cruickshank p. 31
1978	Anchisauridae Bonaparte p. 316–317
1978	Anchisauridae Van Heerden p. 188–189
1979	Anchisauridae Benton p. 143
1980	Anchisauridae Ostrom p. 22
1981	Anchisauridae Cooper p. 694
1984	Anchisauridae Olsen and Galton p. 92
1984	Anchisauridae Russell p. 28
1985	Anchisauridae Attridge et al. p. 128
1985	Anchisauridae Galton
1986	Anchisauridae Bakker p. 461
1986	Anchisauridae Battail p. 48
1988	Anchisauridae Carroll
2005	Anchisauridae Galton et al. p. 30
2007	Anchisauridae Upchurch et al. p. 62 fig. 3
2009	Anchisauridae Martínez p. 162 fig. 22

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Rank	Name	Author
kingdom	Animalia	()
—	Bilateria
—	Eubilateria	Ax 1987
—	Deuterostomia
phylum	Chordata	Haeckel 1874
subphylum	Vertebrata
superclass	Gnathostomata
—	Osteichthyes	()
subclass	Sarcopterygii	()
subclass	Dipnotetrapodomorpha	(Nelson 2006)
subclass	Tetrapodomorpha	()
—	Tetrapoda
—	Reptiliomorpha
—	Anthracosauria
subclass	Amphibiosauria	Kuhn 1967
—	Cotylosauria	()
—	Amniota
—	Sauropsida
class	Reptilia
subclass	Eureptilia	()
—	Romeriida

Rank	Name	Author
—	Diapsida	()
—	Archosauromorpha	(Huene 1946)
—	Crocopoda
—	Archosauriformes	Gauthier 1986
—	Eucrocopoda
—	Archosauria	()
informal	Avemetatarsalia
—	Ornithodira
—	Dinosauromorpha
—	Dinosauriformes
—	Dinosauria	()
—	Saurischia	()
—	Eusaurischia
—	Sauropodomorpha	(Huene 1932)
—	Bagualosauria
—	Plateosauria	()
—	Anchisauria
—	Prosauropoda	()
family	Anchisauridae
family	Anchisauridae

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

Fm. †Anchisauridae Marsh 1885 [anchisaurid]

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G. †Actiosaurus Sauvage 1883

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†Actiosaurus gaudryi Sauvage 1883

G. †Ammosaurus Marsh 1891

G. †Gyposaurus Broom 1911

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†Gyposaurus sinensis Young 1940

G. †Senqutrisauropus Ellenberger 1970

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†Senqutrisauropus priscus Ellenberger 1970

Invalid names: Amphisauridae Marsh 1882 [synonym], Gryponichidae Huene 1932 [synonym], Palaeosauridae Huene 1932 [synonym]

Diagnosis

Reference	Diagnosis
K. A. v. Zittel 1890	irbel amphicöl und wie die übrigen Skeletknochen hohl ; die grossen inneren Hohlräume von dünnen aber dichten Knochenwänden umgeben. Schambeinedünn, stabförmig. Ischia sehr schlank, distal verbunden. Astragalus ohne aufsteigenden Fortsatz. Hand und Fuss fünfzehig, die äussersten Zehen rudimentär.
B. F. Nopcsa 1901	postorbitale, az állkapocs elöl fogakkal, A csigolyák biconcávak, 2 —3 sacrumcsigolya. Pubes karcsú vagy széles, interpubes hiányzik, távolabbi végei egyesítve vagy össze nem növe. Ilium hälul kiszélesedett. Az astragaluson nincsen processus ascendens. Kéz és láb 5 ujjal (Anchisauridae, Plataeosauridae, Marsh); legegyszerübb triászkoru alakok. [postorbitale, jaw with teeth in front, vertebrae biconcave, 2–3 sacrum vertebrae. Pubes slender or broad, interpubes absent, distal ends merged or not joined together. Ilium widened. There is no processus ascendens on the astragalus. Hands and feet with 5 fingers (Anchisauridae, Plataeosauridae, Marsh); simplest Triassic forms.]
R. S. Lull 1924	Small, lightly built, with hollow bones, but strong limbs; ilium broadened behind the acetabulum; teeth partly rudimentary; astragalus without ascending process; Triassic.
B. F. Nopcsa 1928	base of skull narrowed; condyle directed obliquely backward; lightly built animals
F. v. Huene 1948 (Palaeosauridae)	Small, semiquadrupedous. Triassic.

Measurements

No measurements are available

Composition:

phosphaticsubp

Maximum body mass:

30 kgg

Minimum body mass:

10 kgg

Environment:

terrestrialinfrao

Locomotion:

actively mobilec

Life habit:

ground dwellinginfrao

Diet:

herbivoreinfrao

Created:

2005-09-15 11:05:47

Modified:

2009-01-03 22:40:20

Source: g = genus, infrao = infraorder, c = class, subp = subphylum

References: Carroll 1988, Peczkis 1995, Norman and Weishampel 1991, Hendy et al. 2009

Age range: base of the Carnian to the top of the Pliensbachian or 237.00000 to 182.70000 Ma

Collections (17 total)

Time interval	Ma	Country or state	Original ID and collection number
Carnian - Norian	237.0 - 208.5	Lesotho	Senqutrisauropus priscus (84061)
Rhaetian	208.5 - 201.3	France (Burgundy)	Actiosaurus gaudryi (144758)
Early/Lower Jurassic	201.4 - 174.7	China (Guizhou)	Anchisaurus sinensis (49780)
Hettangian	201.3 - 199.3	China (Yunnan)	Gyposaurus sinensis (49501 49503)
Early/Lower Hettangian	201.3 - 196.5	Canada (Nova Scotia)	Ammosaurus sp. (74208 74212 74215)
Hettangian - Sinemurian	201.3 - 190.8	South Africa (Eastern Cape)	Anchisauridae indet. (149713)
Sinemurian	199.3 - 190.8	China (Yunnan)	Gyposaurus sinensis (47081 49773 66926 72091 78993) Saurischia indet. (49776)
Pliensbachian	190.8 - 182.7	Lesotho	Anchisauridae indet. (84075 149714)