Phytosaur Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Phytosaurs Temporal range: Upper Triassic 228 to 199.6 mya

Skull of Pseudopalatus mccauleyi
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Saurischia
Subclass:	Crurotarsi
Order:	Phytosauria
Synonyms
Parasuchia Huxley, 1875

This is a skull of a Phytosaur. Notice its long snout!

Phytosaurs were a group of large, ancient reptiles that are now extinct. They lived during the Upper Triassic period, which was about 228 to 199.6 million years ago. These amazing creatures spent a lot of their time in the water, like modern crocodiles.

Phytosaurs had long snouts and strong, bony armour on their bodies. They looked a lot like today's crocodiles in their size, how they appeared, and how they lived. This is a cool example of convergent evolution. It means two different kinds of animals can develop similar features because they live in similar environments or have similar lifestyles.

The name 'phytosaur' means 'plant reptile'. This is a bit funny because when their first fossils were found, scientists mistakenly thought they ate plants. But if you look at their sharp teeth, it's clear they were fierce predators! They hunted other animals for food.

Even though phytosaurs looked like crocodiles, they weren't true crocodiles. However, they were more closely related to crocodiles than to other modern reptiles. Real crocodiles didn't start looking like phytosaurs until much later, in the Lower Jurassic period.

Where did Phytosaurs live?

Phytosaurs lived all over the world! Their fossils have been found in many different places. These include Europe, North America, India, Morocco, Thailand, Brazil, and Madagascar. This shows that they were very successful animals during their time.