Eosphorosuchus enters the LRT alongside a much smaller Terrestrisuchus
Eosphorosuchus lacrimosa
(Margulis-Ohnuma et al 2026, Late Triassic, New Mexico, 140cm in length estimate) was originally assigned to Hesperosuchus. Here in the large reptile tree (LRT, 2340 taxa) Eosphorosuchus nests with a much smaller Briitish biped, Terrestrisuchus. The 2026 authors nested it in a polytomy with UCMP 129470,Trialestes, Pseudhesperosuchusand Carnufex, not Terrestrisuchus. The reported ‘prefrontal’ is unique among tetrapods in not contacting the orbit, so this may be an error. Note the robust post-narial premaxilla and postorbital.
Click on the above links to see the data.
The authors reported,
“A robust upper temporal arch and prominent surangular ridge indicate the presence of well-developed superficial external adductor musculature, which is divergent relative to pseudosuchians generally.”
By contrast these traits simply follow patterns of increased robusticity with an increase in size relative to the smaller, more gracile sister, Terrestrisuchus. In this regard and with this perspective, Eosphorosuchus did not have an ‘unusual feeding anatomy’. It was simply much larger and likely tracked larger prey that fought back with more force.
Outgroup taxa
to the Eosphorosuchus + Terrestrisuchus clade in the LRT include the Sphenosuchus clade at a basal node, Yonghesuchus + all more modern crocs in a sister node.
The 2026 authors used the wrong outgroup
taxa for the Crocodylomorpha, Gracilisuchus and Postosuchus. The former is an ingroup member in the LRT. The latter is several nodes distant as an outgroup. Other taxa are nearer and closer relatives. The authors also considered the clade Crocodylomorpha a pseudosuchian sub-clade. The LRT does not recover a monophyletic Pseudosuchia. Rather Crocodylomorpha + Dinosauria = Archosauria. Poposauria is the outgroup clade.
Adding traditionally omitted taxa is the reason for the difference in the two cladograms. The LRT minimizes taxon exclusion by including such a wide gamut of taxa.
References
Margulis-Ohnuma M, Ruebenstahl AA, Meyer DL, Bhullar B-AS 2026. A short-snouted ‘sphenosuchian’ with unusual feeding anatomy demonstrates that ecological
specialization occurred early in crocodylomorph evolution. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 293: 20260130.
wiki/Terrestrisuchus
wiki/Aenigmaspina
wiki/Eosphorosuchus
Source: https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/2026/04/27/eosphorosuchus-enters-the-lrt-alongside-a-much-smaller-terrestrisuchus/
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