Protorosaur
| Protorosauria Temporal range: Changhsingian–Carnian |
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| Fossil specimen of Protorosaurus speneri, Teyler's Museum | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Archosauromorpha |
| Order: |
†Protorosauria Huxley, 1871 |
| Families | |
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†Drepanosauridae |
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†Drepanosauridae
†Protorosauridae
†Sharovipterygidae
†Tanystropheidae
Protorosauria is an extinct group of archosauromorph reptiles from the latest Permian (Changhsingian stage) to the early Late Triassic (Carnian stage) of Asia, Europe, North America. It was named by the English anatomist and paleontologist Thomas Henry Huxley in 1871 as an order. Other names that are for the most part equivalent to Protorosauria include Prolacertiformes and Prolacertilia.
Protorosaurs are distinguished by their long necks formed by elongated cervical vertebrae, which have ribs that extend backward to the vertebrae behind them. Protorosaurs also have a gap between the quadrate bones and the jugal bones in the back of the skull near the jaw joint, making their skulls resemble those of lizards.
Protorosauria was considered to be a synonym of Prolacertiformes for many years.
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