| Bathyotica Temporal range: Late Triassic - Recent, 228–0 Ma |
|
|---|---|
| Life restoration of Erpetosuchus granti | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Branch: | Loricata |
| clade: | Bathyotica Benton and Walker, 2002 |
| Subtaxa | |
Bathyotica is a clade of crurotarsan archosaurs that includes the superorder Crocodylomorpha and its sister taxon Erpetosuchus, a small Triassic suchian. Bathyotica was named in a 2002 phylogenetic study of Erpetosuchus. The genus was found to be closely related to crocodylomorphs, and Bathyotica was erected to encompass both taxa.
Bathyotica has several apomorphies, characteristics that distinguish it from more basal crurotarsans. A prominent feature is the forward sloping of the quadrate and quadratojugal bones at the back of the skull. The sloping bones open up a space called the otic recess, which is positioned behind the lower temporal fossa, a hole on the side of the skull behind the eye sockets. Members of Bathyotica also lack a postfrontal bone.[1]