osteoderms. In the case of sphenosuchians, the anterior edge of the osteoderm forms a process or "lappet", while in protosuchians, the anterior edge has a depressed band similar to those of aetosaurs. Out of all Triassic crurotarsans, the osteoderms of Tarjadia bear the closest resemblance to those of phytosaurs; they have a similar shape and are also heavily pitted. Moreover, the skull roof of is also pitted in phytosaurs. However, Tarjadia can be distinguished from all phytosaurs in that it has differently shaped parietal bones. The strong sagittal crest on the parietals of Tarjadia is not seen in any phytosaur. When it was first erected in 2011, the family Doswelliidae was proposed to include Doswellia, Archeopelta, and Tarjadia. Synapomorphies, or unique features of the group, include coarsely pitted and incised osteoderms and an anterior articular lamina. The phylogenetic analysis conducted by Ezcurra et al. (2017) did not confirm a close relationship between Tarjadia and Doswellia; instead, Tarjadia was recovered as an erpetosuchid pseudosuchian archosaur. The cladogram of the strict consensus tree from the study is given below. References External links Supplementary data for "Deep faunistic turnovers preceded the rise of dinosaurs in southwestern Pangaea" (2017), including geological information, anatomical details on Tarjadia ruthae, and details of a phylogenetic analysis. Middle Triassic pseudosuchians Middle Triassic reptiles of South America Anisian life Triassic Argentina Fossils of Argentina Chañares Formation Fossil taxa described in 1998 Prehistoric pseudosuchian genera