| Euparkeriidae Temporal range: early - mid Triassic |
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| life restoration of Euparkeria capensis | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Sauropsida |
| Subclass: | Diapsida |
| Infraclass: | Archosauromorpha |
| (unranked): | Archosauriformes |
| Family: | Euparkeriidae Huene, 1920 |
| Genera | |
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Euparkeriidae is a family of small basal archosauromorph carnivores which lived from the Early Triassic to the Middle Triassic (Anisian). Their fossil remains are known so far from South Africa and Russia. Quite opposite to their sister family Erythrosuchidae, euparkeriids were small, slender animals which were probably facultative bipeds.
The clade is named after Euparkeria, a relatively well-known member of the group. Other possible euparkeriids include Dorosuchus, Halazaisuchus, Osmolskina, Wangisuchus, and Xilousuchus. The family name was first proposed by Friedrich von Huene in 1920; Huene classified euparkeriids as members of Pseudosuchia. More recent analysis places Euparkeriidae within Archosauriformes. Euparkeriids lie close to the ancestry of the crocodiles, pseudosuchians, ornithodires and dinosaurs, but are not considered directly ancestral.
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