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Modern crocodilians' hearts are 4-chambered, but are smaller relative to body size and run at lower pressure than those of modern birds and mammals. They also have a pulmonary bypass, which makes them functionally 3-chambered when under water, conserving oxygen. a secondary palate, which allows the animal to eat and breathe at the same time.
[1] [2] In some archosaur species, the opening has closed but its location is still marked by a depression, or fossa, on the surface of the skull called the antorbital fossa. The antorbital fenestra houses a paranasal sinus that is confluent with the adjacent nasal capsule. [ 3 ]
Extinct archosaurs include non-avian dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and extinct relatives of crocodilians. Modern paleontologists define Archosauria as a crown group that includes the most recent common ancestor of living birds and crocodilians, and all of its descendants.
Archosaurus (meaning "ruling lizard") is an extinct genus of carnivorous proterosuchid archosauriform reptile. [1] Its fossils are dated to the latest Permian of Russia and Poland, it is one of the earliest known archosauriforms.
This mobility, along with its size, abundance, and specialized beak made it the chief herbivore in the Dockum area. [2] It has also been suggested that Desmatosuchus could have been omnivorous or even an insectivore. This is because of several similarities between Desmatosuchus and armadillos. [14] For instance, both groups are armored.
A study on the morphology of dorsal vertebrae of extant and fossil archosaurs, and on its implications for inferring lung structure in non-avian dinosauriform archosaurs, is published by Brocklehurst, Schachner & Sellers (2018). [1] [2]
Gregory S. Paul inferred that Lagosuchus was one of the smallest Triassic archosaurs, with a weight of about 167 g, similar in size and ecology to a weasel or ferret. [9] Thomas Holtz estimated that Lagosuchus could have obtained a total length of 1.7 ft (51 cm) and a weight similar to that of a pigeon (50-500 g). [ 10 ]
Aetosaurs belong to Pseudosuchia, a clade of archosaurs that includes living crocodilians and is characterized by the distinctive structure of the ankle bones. [dubious – discuss] Aetosaurs were traditionally referred to a (now obsolete) group called the thecodonts, which included all "primitive" crocodilian relatives that lived in the Triassic.