Theropoda Marsh, 1881
Definition- (Allosaurus fragilis <- Plateosaurus engelhardti) (Clarke, Gauthier, de Queiroz, Joyce, Parham and Rowe, 2004)
Other definitions- (Passer domesticus <- Saltasaurus loricatus) (Sereno, 2004; modified from Sereno, 1998; modified from Gauthier, 1986)
(Passer domesticus <- Cetiosaurus oxoniensis) (Holtz and Osmolska, 2004; modified from Gauthier, 1986)
(Allosaurus fragilis <- Morosaurus impar) (modified from Kischlat, 2002)
= Goniopoda Cope, 1866
= Harpagmosauria Heakel, 1866
= Carnosauriformes Cooper, 1985
= Theropodomorpha Olshevsky, 1991
= Theropoda sensu Sereno, 1998
Definition- (Passer domesticus <- Saltasaurus loricatus) (modified)
= Theropoda sensu Kischlat, 2002
Definition- (Allosaurus fragilis <- Morosaurus impar) (modified)
= Theropoda sensu Holtz and Osmolska, 2004
Definition- (Passer domesticus <- Cetiosaurus oxoniensis) (modified)

unnamed possible theropod (Galton, 1985)
Norian, Late Triassic
Lowenstein Formation, Germany
Material- (SMNS 51958) proximal femur
Comments- Galton (1985) referred this specimen to the same unnamed family as Aliwalia, within Herrerasauria. This was followed by Paul (1988), who placed both in Herrerasauridae. However, Yates (2006) noted Aliwalia is a junior synonym of Eucnemesaurus, which is a sauropodomorph and differs from SMNS 51958 in several respects. Namely, the latter has a more proximally placed fourth trochanter which lacks a rounded profile and notched distal end. Also, the anterior trochanter does not form a proximodistally elongate ridge, unlike sauropodomorphs more derived than Saturnalia. The lack of a proximal notch separating the anterior trochanter and femoral shaft is unlike ornithischians most avepods except robust coelophysoids and robust ceratosaurs. The symmetrical fourth trochanter is unlike sauropodomorphs, Herrerasaurus and Eoraptor. The markedly inturned femoral head indicates SMNS 51958 is a dinosaur, more derived than Silesaurus or Lewisuchus.
References- Galton, 1985. The poposaurid thecodontian Teratosaurus suevicus v. Meyer, plus referred specimens mostly based on prosauropod dinosaurs, from the Middle Stubensandstein (Upper Triassic) of Nordwurttemberg. Stuttgart Beitrage zur Naturkunde (B). 116, 1-29.
Paul, 1988. Predatory dinosaurs of the world. Simon and Schuster, New York. A New York Academy of Sciences Book. 464 pp.
Yates, 2007. Solving a dinosaurian puzzle: the identity of Aliwalia rex Galton. Historical Biology. 19(1), 93-123.

Eoraptor Sereno, Forster, Rogers and Monetta, 1993
E. lunensis Sereno, Forster, Rogers and Monetta, 1993
Middle Carnian, Late Triassic
Ischigualasto Formation, Argentina
Holotype- (PVSJ 512) (1 m) skull, mandibles, ten cervical vertebrae, cervical ribs, fourteen dorsal vertebrae, dorsal ribs, gastralia, sacrum, proximal and mid caudal vertebrae, chevrons, scapula, coracoid, humerus (85 mm), radius (63 mm), ulna, manus (metacarpus 21 mm), pelvis, femur (152 mm), tibia (157 mm), fibula, metatarsus (81 mm), pedal phalanges
Referred- several individuals (Sereno, 2007)
Comments- This genus has yet to be described in detail, though a monograph supposedly set to appear as a supplement to the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology has been in the works for over a decade.
Eoraptor has been found in two positions in different cladistic analyses. One possibility is that it is the most basal theropod, outside a clade containing herrerasaurids and avepods (Novas, 1993; Sereno et al., 1993; Novas, 1996; Sereno, 1999; Kischlat, 2000; Rauhut, 2003; Tykoski, 2005; Ezcurra and Novas, 2006), or as the sister group to a sauropodomorph-theropod clade (Eusaurischia) (Langer, 2004; Langer and Benton, 2006; Yates, 2007; Smith et al., 2007). Ezcurra (2006) finds it to be the sister group to avepods, while herrerasaurids are basal to Eusaurischia.
References- Novas, 1993. New information on the systematics and postcranial skeleton of Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis (Theropoda: Herrerasauridae) from the Ischigualasto Formation (Upper Triassic) of Argentina. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 13, 400-423.
Sereno, Forster, Rogers and Monetta, 1993. Primitive dinosaur skeleton from Argentina and the early evolution of Dinosauria. Nature. 361, 64-66.
Novas, 1996. Dinosaur monophyly. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 16, 723-741.
Sereno, 1999. The evolution of dinosaurs. Science. 284, 2137-2147.
Kischlat, 2000. Tecodoncios: A aurora dos Arcosaurios no Triassico. in Holz and De Rose (eds.). Paleontologia do Rio Grande do Sol. 273-316.
Rauhut, 2003. The interrelationships and evolution of basal theropod dinosaurs. Special Papers in Palaeontology. 69, 1-213.
Langer, 2004. Basal Saurischia. In Weishampel, Dodson and Osmolska. The Dinosauria Second Edition. University of California Press. 861 pp.
Tykoski, 2005. Anatomy, ontogeny and phylogeny of coelophysoid theropods. PhD Dissertation. University of Texas at Austin. 553 pp.
Ezcurra, 2006. A review of the systematic position of the dinosauriform archosaur Eucoelophysis baldwini Sullivan & Lucas, 1999 from the Upper Triassic of New Mexico, USA. Geodiversitas. 28(4),649-684.
Ezcurra and Novas, 2006. Phylogenetic relationships of the Triassic theropod Zupaysaurus rougieri from NWArgentina. Historical Biology. iFirst Article, 38 pp. DOI 10.1080/08912960600845791.
Langer and Benton, 2006. Early dinosaurs: A phylogenetic study. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 4(4), 309-358.
Sereno, 2007. The phylogenetic relationships of early dinosaurs: a comparative report. Historical Biology. 19(1), 145-155.
Smith, Makovicky, Hammer and Currie, 2007. Osteology of Cryolophosaurus ellioti (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Early Jurassic of Antarctica and implications for early theropod evolution. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 151, 377-421.
Yates, 2007. Solving a dinosaurian puzzle: the identity of Aliwalia rex Galton. Historical Biology. 19(1), 93-123.

undecribed basal theropod (Sereno, 2007)
Middle Carnian, Late Triassic
Ischigualasto Formation, Argentina
Material- specimen including distal caudal vertebrae
Comments- Sereno (2007) states this is a closely related taxon to Eoraptor lunensis which has distal caudal prezygapophyses ~15% of centrum length.
Reference- Sereno, 2007. The phylogenetic relationships of early dinosaurs: a comparative report. Historical Biology. 19(1), 145-155.

unnamed clade
Definition- (Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis + Passer domesticus)
Comments- This clade was first recognized by Sereno et al. (1993), grouping Herrerasaurus closer to derived theropods than Eoraptor is. However, when herrerasaurids and Eoraptor are positioned outside Eusaurischia, Eoraptor is usually closer to Eusaurischia than herrerasaurids.

Tanystrosuchus Kuhn, 1963
T. posthumus (Huene, 1908) Kuhn, 1963
= Tanystrophaeus posthumus Huene, 1908
= Coelophysis posthumus (Huene, 1908)
Norian, Late Triassic
Middle Stubensandstein, Germany
Holotype- (SMNS 4385) distal caudal vertebra
Comments- This was first described and figured by Meyer (1865), though not assigned to a taxon. The elongate prezygopophyses are otherwise only seen in Herrerasaurus and some tetanurines, while the ventral groove is only known in avepods. Rauhut and Hungerbuhler (2000) place it as Theropoda indet., though this seems to be a unique combination of characters for a Triassic taxon.
References- Meyer, 1865. Reptilien aus dem Stubensandstein des oberen Keupers (Dritte Folge). Palaeontographica. 14, 99-124.
Huene, 1908. Die Dinosaurier der europäischen Triasformation mit Berücksichtigung der aussereuropäischen Vorkommnisse. Geol. Paläontol. Abhandl., Suppl.. 1:,1-419.
Kuhn, 1963. Ichnia Tetrapodorum. In Westphal, (ed.). Fossilium Catalogus I: Animalia, part 101. W. Junk, The Hague, Netherlands. 176 pp.
Rauhut and Hungerbuhler, 2000. A review of European Triassic theropods. Gaia. 15, 75-88.

Herrerasauria Galton, 1985
Definition- (Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis <- Liliensternus liliensterni, Plateosaurus engelhardti) (modified from Langer, 2004)
= Staurikosauria Paul, 1988
= Herreravia Paul, 1988
= Herrerasauridae sensu Sereno, 1998
Definition- (Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis <- Passer domesticus) (modified)
Comments- Galton (1985) erected Herrerasauria to contain Staurikosaurus, Herrerasaurus and Aliwalia, within Theropoda. Paul (1988) later named Herreravia to contain Herrerasaurus, Frenguellisaurus, Aliwalia, Alwalkeria and possibly Protoavis. Both terms were seldomly used, as Herrerasauridae was soon defined to contain both Staurikosaurus and Herrerasaurus (Novas, 1992), making Herrerasauria redundant. Aliwalia is now known to be a junior synonym of the sauropodomorph Eucnemesaurus (Yates, 2007). Alwalkeria and Protoavis are both chimaeras whose theropod material seems more closely related to birds than Herrerasaurus (Remes and Rauhut, 2005; Nesbitt et al., 2007) and Frenguellisaurus is a synonym of Herrerasaurus itself (Novas, 1993). Langer (2004) recently reinstated Herrerasauria to include herrerasaurids and taxa more closely related to them than to sauropodomorphs and avepods. He suggested Chindesaurus may be a non-herrerasaurid herrerasaurian, but this has yet to be validated by a published phylogenetic analysis. In fact, that of Yates (2006) found Chindesaurus to be closer to Avepoda than Herrerasauridae. However, the unpublished analysis of Bittencourt and Kellner (2004) agrees with Langer. Hunt (1996) proposed Chindesaurus, Gojirasaurus (as "Revueltoraptor") and "Comanchesaurus" belonged to a herrerasaur clade separate from Staurikosaurus and Herrerasaurus, which would make them non-herrerasaurid herreravians under Langer's definition. The latter two taxa are now considered to be coelophysoids (Nesbitt et al., 2007).
References- Galton, 1985. The poposaurid thecodontian Teratosaurus suevicus v. Meyer, plus referred specimens mostly based on prosauropod dinosaurs, from the Middle Stubensandstein (Upper Triassic) of Nordwurttemberg. Stuttgart Beitrage zur Naturkunde (B). 116, 1-29.
Paul, 1988. Predatory dinosaurs of the world. Simon and Schuster, New York. A New York Academy of Sciences Book. 464 pp.
Novas, 1992. Phylogenetic relationships of the basal dinosaurs, the Herrerasauridae. Palaeontology. 35, 51-62.
Novas, 1993. New information on the systematics and postcranial skeleton of Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis (Theropoda: Herrerasauridae) from the Ischigualasto Formation (Upper Triassic) of Argentina. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 13, 400-423.
Hunt, 1996. A new clade of herrerasaur-like theropods from the Late Triassic of western North America. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 16(3), 43A.
Sereno, 1998. A rationale for phylogenetic definitions, with application to the higher-level taxonomy of Dinosauria. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen. 210(1), 41-83.
Bittencourt and Kellner, 2004. The phylogenetic position of Staurikosaurus pricei Colbert, 1970 from the Triassic of Brazil. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 24(3).
Langer, 2004. Basal Saurischia. In Weishampel, Dodson and Osmolska. The Dinosauria Second Edition. University of California Press. 861 pp.
Remes and Rauhut, 2005. The oldest Indian dinosaur Alwalkeria maleriensis Chatterjee revised: a chimera including remains of a basal saurischian. in Kellner, Henriques and Rodrigues (eds). II Congresso Latino-Americano de Paleontologia de Vertebrados, Boletim de Resumos.Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro. 218.
Nesbitt, Irmis and Parker, 2007. A critical re-evaluation of the Late Triassic dinosaur taxa of North America. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 5(2), 209–243.
Yates, 2007. Solving a dinosaurian puzzle: the identity of Aliwalia rex Galton. Historical Biology. 19(1), 93-123.

Herrerasauridae Benedetto, 1973
= Staurikosauridae Galton, 1977
Definition- (Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis + Staurikosaurus pricei) (modified from Novas, 1992)
Other definitions- (Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis <- Passer domesticus) (Sereno, 2005; modified from Sereno, 1998)
Diagnosis- (after Novas, 1992; Langer, 2004) shortened posterior dorsal centra (dorsals 13-15 with length 80% or less of height); posterior dorsal and first sacral vertebrae with robust, squared neural spines; sacral ribs very deep and cover nearly 90% of the ilium; vertical neural spines on proximal caudals; elongate distal caudal prezygopophyses; brevis shelf and fossa reduced; reduced lesser trochanter.
Comments- After being referred to Sauropodomorpha (Van Heerden, 1978; 1979; Cooper, 1981), herrerasaurids were generally excluded from Dinosauria (Gauthier, 1986; Brinkman and Sues, 1987; Paul, 1988; Novas, 1989; Benton, 1990; Sereno and Novas, 1990; Novas, 1992; also Langer et al., 1999 and Fraser et al., 2002) until Herrerasaurus was redescribed (Sereno and Novas, 1992; Novas, 1993; Sereno, 1993; Sereno and Novas, 1993) as a theropod. Additional studies placed Herrerasauridae in Theropoda (Sereno et al., 1993; Novas, 1996, 1997; Benton, 1999; Sereno, 1999; Kischlat, 2000; Rauhut, 2003; Tykoski, 2005; Ezcurra and Novas, 2006), or as saurischians outside the sauropodomorph-theropod clade (Eusaurischia) (Padian and May, 1993; Bonaparte and Pumares, 1995; Holtz, 1995; Langer et al., 1999; Langer, 2004; Ezcurra, 2006; Langer and Benton, 2006; Yates, 2007; Irmis et al., 2007; Smith et al., 2007). A position inside Theropoda is tentatively followed here, as it is more parsimonious when all the data of Rauhut (2003), Tykoski (2005), Ezcurra and Novas (2006), Langer and Benton (2006) and Smith et al. (2007) is combined, but only by four steps.
Benedetto (1973) erected Herrerasauridae to include Herrerasaurus and Staurikosaurus, though Staurikosaurus was generally excluded until Novas' 1992 study. Before then, Herrerasauridae was viewed as monotypic by most sources except for Paul (1988). Paul (1988) included both Aliwalia and Alwalkeria in Herrerasauridae and considered Protoavis a possible herrerasaurid derivative. Aliwalia is now known to be a junior synonym of the sauropodomorph Eucnemesaurus (Yates, 2007). Alwalkeria and Protoavis are both chimaeras whose theropod material seems more closely related to birds than Herrerasaurus (Remes and Rauhut, 2005; Nesbitt et al., 2007). He also considered SMNS 51958, a proximal femur from the Lowenstein Formation of Germany, a herrerasaurid. While this may be true, it shows no particular similarity to herrerasaurid femora compared to those of other theropods. Long and Murry (1995) referred Chindesaurus to Herrerasauridae, which seems unlikely based on Langer (2004) and Yates (2006). Hunt (1994) referred Gojirasaurus (as "Revueltoraptor") and "Comanchesaurus" to a broader version of Herrerasauridae. These are called herrerasaurids A and B by Hunt et al. (1998), but are coelophysoids (Nesbitt et al., 2007)
References- Colbert, 1970. A saurischian dinosaur from the Triassic of Brazil. American Museum Novitates. 2405, 1-39.
Benedetto, 1973. Herrerasauridae, nueva familia de saurisquios triasicos. Ameghiniana. 10(1), 89-102.
Galton, 1977. On Staurikosaurus pricei, an early saurischian dinosaur from the Triassic of Brazil, with notes on the Herrerasauridae and Poposauridae. Palaontologische Zeitschrift. 51, 234-245.
van Heerden, 1978. Herrerasaurus and the origin of sauropod dinosaurs. South African Journal of Science. 74, 187-189.
van Heerden, 1979. The morphology and taxonomy of Euskelosaurus (Reptilia: Saurischia; Late Triassic) from South Africa. Navorsinge van die Nasionale Museum, Bloemfontein. 4, 21-84.
Cooper, 1981. The prosauropod dinosaur Massospondylus carinatus Owen from Zimbabwe: its biology, mode of life and phylogenetic significance. Occasional Papers of the National Museums and Monuments of Rhodesia (series B, Natural Sciences). 6, 689-840.
Gauthier, 1986. Saurischian monophyly and the origin of birds. Memoirs of the Californian Academy of Sciences 8, 1-55.
Brinkman and Sues, 1987. A staurikosaurid dinosaur from the Upper Triassic Ischigualasto Formation of Argentina and the relationships of the Staurikosauridae. Palaeontology. 30, 493-503.
Paul, 1988. Predatory dinosaurs of the world. Simon and Schuster, New York. A New York Academy of Sciences Book. 464 pp.
Novas, 1989. The tibia and tarsus in Herrerasauridae (Dinosauria, incertae sedis) and the origin and evolution of the dinosaurian tarsus. Journal of Paleontology. 63, 677-690.
Benton, 1990. Origin and interrelationships of dinosaurs. in Weishampel, Dodson and Osmolska (eds). The Dinosauria. University of California Press: Berkeley. 11-30.
Sereno and Novas, 1990. Dinosaur origins and the phylogenetic position of pterosaurs. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 10(3), 42A.
Novas, 1992. Phylogenetic relationships of the basal dinosaurs, the Herrerasauridae. Palaeontology. 35, 51-62.
Sereno and Novas, 1992. The complete skull and skeleton of an early dinosaur. Science. 258, 1137-1140.
Novas, 1993. New information on the systematics and postcranial skeleton of Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis (Theropoda: Herrerasauridae) from the Ischigualasto Formation (Upper Triassic) of Argentina. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 13, 400-423.
Padian and May, 1993. The earliest dinosaurs. Bulletin of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science. 3, 379-381.
Sereno, 1993. The pectoral girdle and forelimb of the basal theropod Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 13, 425-450.
Sereno and Novas, 1993. The skull and neck of the basal theropod Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 13, 451-476.
Sereno, Forster, Rogers and Monetta, 1993. Primitive dinosaur skeleton from Argentina and the early evolution of Dinosauria. Nature. 361, 64-66.
Bonaparte and Pumares, 1995. Notas sobre el primer craneo de Riojasaurus incertus (Dinosauria, Prosauropoda, Melanorosauridae) del Triasico Superior de La Rioja, Argentina. Ameghiniana. 32, 341-349.
Holtz, 1995. A new phylogeny of the Theropoda. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 15(3), 35A.
Novas, 1996. Dinosaur monophyly. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 16, 723-741.
Novas, 1997. Herrerasauridae. in Currie and Padian (eds). Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs. Academic Press, San Diego, California/London, UK. 303-311.
Hunt, Lucas, Heckert, Sullivan and Lockley, 1998. Late Triassic Dinosaurs from the Western United States. Geobios 31, 4: 511-531.
Langer, Abdala, Richter and Benton, 1999. A sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Upper Triassic (Carnian) of souther Brazil. Comptes Rendus de l’Academie des Sciences, Paris. 329, 511-517.
Benton, 1999. Scleromochlus taylori and the origin of dinosaurs and pterosaurs. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London (Series B). 354, 1423-1446.
Sereno, 1999. The evolution of dinosaurs. Science. 284, 2137-2147.
Fraser, Padian, Walkeden and Davis, 2002. Basal dinosauriform remains from Britain and the diagnosis of the Dinosauria. Palaeontology. 45, 78-95.
Kischlat, 2000. Tecodoncios: A aurora dos Arcosaurios no Triassico. in Holz and De Rose (eds.). Paleontologia do Rio Grande do Sol. 273-316.
Rauhut, 2003. The interrelationships and evolution of basal theropod dinosaurs. Special Papers in Palaeontology. 69, 1-213.
Langer, 2004. Basal Saurischia. In Weishampel, Dodson and Osmolska. The Dinosauria Second Edition. University of California Press. 861 pp.
Remes and Rauhut, 2005. The oldest Indian dinosaur Alwalkeria maleriensis Chatterjee revised: a chimera including remains of a basal saurischian. in Kellner, Henriques and Rodrigues (eds). II Congresso Latino-Americano de Paleontologia de Vertebrados, Boletim de Resumos.Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro. 218.
Tykoski, 2005. Anatomy, ontogeny and phylogeny of coelophysoid theropods. PhD Dissertation. University of Texas at Austin. 553 pp.
Ezcurra, 2006. A review of the systematic position of the dinosauriform archosaur Eucoelophysis baldwini Sullivan & Lucas, 1999 from the Upper Triassic of New Mexico, USA. Geodiversitas. 28(4),649-684.
Ezcurra and Novas, 2006. Phylogenetic relationships of the Triassic theropod Zupaysaurus rougieri from NWArgentina. Historical Biology. iFirst Article, 38 pp. DOI 10.1080/08912960600845791.
Langer and Benton, 2006. Early dinosaurs: A phylogenetic study. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 4(4), 309-358.
Irmis, Nesbitt, Padian, Smith, Turner, Woody and Downs, 2007. A Late Triassic dinosauromorph assemblage from New Mexico and the rise of dinosaurs. Science. 317, 358-361.
Nesbitt, Irmis and Parker, 2007. A critical re-evaluation of the Late Triassic dinosaur taxa of North America. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 5(2), 209–243.
Smith, Makovicky, Hammer and Currie, 2007. Osteology of Cryolophosaurus ellioti (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Early Jurassic of Antarctica and implications for early theropod evolution. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 151, 377-421.
Yates, 2007. Solving a dinosaurian puzzle: the identity of Aliwalia rex Galton. Historical Biology. 19(1), 93-123.

undescribed possible herrerasaurid (Long and Murry, 1995)
Late Carnian, Late Triassic
Mesa Redondo Member of the Chinle Formation, Arizona, US
Material- (UCMP coll.) five dorsal centra
Comments- Originally referred to Chindesaurus by Long and Murry (1995), but removed by Hunt et al. (1998) and assigned to Herrerasauridae indet..
References- Long and Murry, 1995. Late Triassic (Carnian and Norian) tetrapods from the Southwestern Unites States. New Mexico Museum Nat. History Sci. Bull. 4, 1-254.
Hunt, Lucas, Heckert, Sullivan and Lockley, 1998. Late Triassic Dinosaurs from the Western United States. Geobios 31(4), 511-531.

undescribed possible herrerasaurid (Long and Murry, 1995)
Norian, Late Triassic
Petrified Forest Formation of Chinle Group, Arizona, US
Material- (PEFO 4849) dorsal centrum
Comments- Originally referred to Chindesaurus by Long and Murry (1995), but removed by Hunt et al. (1998) as Herrerasauridae indet..
References- Long and Murry, 1995. Late Triassic (Carnian and Norian) tetrapods from the Southwestern Unites States. New Mexico Museum Nat. History Sci. Bull. 4, 1-254.
Hunt, Lucas, Heckert, Sullivan and Lockley, 1998. Late Triassic Dinosaurs from the Western United States. Geobios. 31 (4), 511-531.

undescribed possible herrerasaurid (Hunt, Lucas, Heckert, Sullivan and Lockley, 1998)
Norian, Late Triassic
Bull Canyon Formation, New Mexico, US
Material- (NMMNH P-22494)
Comments- Supposedly originally referred to Chindesaurus by Long and Murry (1995), but removed by Hunt et al. (1998) and assigned to Herrerasauridae indet.. However, this is not listed as a referred Chindesaurus specimen in the former paper.
References- Long and Murry, 1995. Late Triassic (Carnian and Norian) tetrapods from the Southwestern Unites States. New Mexico Museum Nat. History Sci. Bull. 4, 1-254.
Hunt, Lucas, Heckert, Sullivan and Lockley, 1998. Late Triassic Dinosaurs from the Western United States. Geobios 31(4), 511-531.

undescribed possible herrerasaurid (Kischlat and Barbarena, 1999)
Carnian, Late Triassic
Santa Maria Formation, Brazil
Material- (FZB coll.) dorsal vertebra
(UFPel coll.) sacral vertebrae
(UFRGS coll.) pubis, ischium
Description- Ambiens process resembles Herrerasaurus. Sacral vertebrae resemble Spondylosoma, but ambiens process is different.
Reference- Kischlat and Barbarena, 1999. Brazilian dinosaurs: new data. Paleontologia em Destaque, Boletim Informativo da Sociedade Brasileira de Paleontologia. 14(26).

unnamed herrerasaurid (Dzik, 2001)
Middle-Late Carnian, Late Triassic
Drawno Beds, Poland
Material- (ZPAL AbIII/284) sacral vertebra
Reference- Dzik, 2001. A new Paleorhinus fauna in the Early Late Triassic of Poland. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 21(3), 625-627.

undescribed herrerasaurid (Nesbitt, 2001)
Anisian, Middle Triassic
Moenkopi Formation, Arizona, US
Material- partial pubis
Reference- Nesbitt, 2001. New fossil vertebrate material from the Holbrook Member, Moenkopi Formation (Middle Triassic) from Northern Arizona. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 21(3), 83A.

Herrerasaurinae Benedetto, 1973
Herrerasaurus Reig, 1963
= Ischisaurus Reig, 1963
= Frenguellisaurus Novas, 1986
H. ischigualastensis Reig, 1963
= Ischisaurus cattoi Reig, 1963
= Frenguellisaurus ischigualastensis Novas, 1986
Middle Carnian, Late Triassic
Ischigualasto Formation, Argentina
Diagnosis- (after Novas, 1993; Langer, 2004) broad subnarial premaxillary process; premaxilla-maxilla fenestra; narrow, U-shaped antiorbital fossa; broad supratemporal depression; jugal ridge; narrow dorsal portion of infratemporal fenestra; subquadrate ventral process of squamosal with lateral depression; quadratojugal overlaps posterior portion of quadrate shaft; basal tuber and occipital condyle subequal in width; slender ribbed posterodorsal dentary process; spine tables on posterior dorsal and first sacral vertebrae; prominent acromion on scapula; acromial process extends distally with respect to glenoid lip, forms nearly right angle with scapular blade; unexpanded distal scapula; humeral internal tuberosity proximally proximally projected and separated from the humeral head by a deep groove; circular pit on humeral entepicondyle; humeral entepicondyle ridge-like with anterior and posterior depressions; saddle-shaped ulnar condyle of humerus; cocavoconvex ulna-ulnare articulation with size disparity; centrale distal to radiale; distal carpal four enlarged; enlarged hands (60% of arm); manual unguals II and III subequal in length and larger than manual ungual I; pubis proximally curved and ventrally oriented; pubis with sinuous lateral margin in anterior view; posterior border of ilial peduncle forms right angle with dorsal border of shaft on ischium; anteroproximal keel on femur; anterolateral subcircular muscle scar on distal femur; tibia shortened (87-91% of femur).
Holotype- (PVL 2566) (3.5 m, 210 kg) seventh dorsal vertebra (50 mm), eighth dorsal vertebra (45 mm), ninth dorsal vertebra (45 mm), tenth dorsal vertebra (45 mm), eleventh dorsal vertebra (45 mm), twelfth dorsal vertebra (45 mm), thirteenth dorsal vertebra (42 mm), fourteenth dorsal vertebra (44 mm), fifteenth dorsal vertebra (42 mm), dorsal rib fragments, first sacral vertebra (56 mm), second sacral vertebra (65 mm), first caudal vertebra (49 mm), second caudal vertebra (45 mm), third caudal vertebra (42 mm), fourth caudal vertebra (47 mm), fifth caudal vertebra (46 mm), sixth caudal vertebra (47 mm), seventh caudal vertebra (50 mm), eighth caudal vertebra (50 mm), ninth caudal vertebra (50 mm), tenth caudal vertebra (50 mm), eleventh caudal vertebra, twelfth caudal vertebra (47 mm), thirteenth caudal vertebra (56 mm), fourteenth caudal vertebra (46 mm), fifteenth caudal vertebra (53 mm), sixteenth caudal vertebra (47 mm), seventeenth caudal vertebra (47 mm), eighteenth caudal vertebra (45 mm), nineteenth caudal vertebra (46 mm), twentieth caudal vertebra (48 mm), twenty-first caudal vertebra (48 mm), twenty-second caudal vertebra, twenty-third caudal vertebra (51 mm), twenty-fourth caudal vertebra (48 mm), twenty-fifth caudal vertebra (50 mm), twenty-sixth caudal vertebra (52 mm), twenty-seventh caudal vertebra (43 mm), twenty-eighth caudal vertebra (53 mm), twenty-ninth caudal vertebra (60 mm), thirtieth caudal vertebra (36 mm), thirty-first caudal vertebra (46 mm), thirty-second caudal vertebra (48 mm), thirty-fourth caudal vertebra (37 mm), thirty-fifth caudal vertebra (50 mm), thirty-sixth caudal vertebra (43 mm), thirty-seventh caudal vertebra (37 mm), thirty-eighth caudal vertebra (43 mm), thirty-ninth caudal vertebra (43 mm), fourtieth caudal vertebra (43 mm), fourty-first caudal vertebra (43 mm), fourty-second caudal vertebra (43 mm), chevrons, ilia (240 mm), pubes (430 mm), nearly complete ischia (~330 mm), femur (473 mm), tibia (413 mm), fibula (415 mm), astragalus (95 mm wide), calcaneum, pes lacking proximal half of metatarsal 1 and several pedal phalanges (mt III 223 mm)
Paratypes- (MLP 61-VIII-2-2) pelvises
(PVL 2054) (3.17 m, 114 kg) gastralia, fragments of pubes, femora (385 mm), tibiae (327 mm), fibulae, several metatarsals (mt III 176 mm) and pedal phalanges
(PVL 2558a) fragments of femora, tibiae, manual ungual
Referred- (MACN 18.060; holotype of Ischisaurus cattoi) (2.36 m, 47 kg) fragmentary premaxilla, maxillae, incomplete frontals, dentaries, splenials, articular end of mandible, teeth, atlantal intercentrum, axis, fourth cervical vertebra (37 mm), fifth cervical vertebra (35 mm), dorsal vertebrae, caudal vertebrae, humeri, proximal end of ulnae, radiale, part of ilium, femur (286 mm), tibiae (280 mm), astragalus, calcaneum, proximal half of metatarsal 1, metatarsals 2 and 3 (134 mm), pedal phalanges (Reig, 1963)
(MACN 18.688) partial pelvis (Novas, 1993)
(MCZ 7063) skull (Sereno and Novas, 1993)
(MCZ 7064) atlas, axial intercentrum, axis, dorsal centrum, partial scapulocoracoid, coracoid, partial humeri, partial ilium, distal pubes, distal femur, partial tibia, proximal fibula, partal pedal phalanges (Brinkman and Sues, 1987)
(MLP 61-VIII-2-3; paratype of Ischisaurus cattoi) (2.77 m, 75 kg) coracoid, humeri, fragmentary ulnae, femur (335 mm), tibia, pedal elements (mt III 156 mm) (Reig, 1963)
(PVSJ 53- holotype of Frenguellisaurus ischigualastensis) partial skull (560 mm), mandible, axis, fragments of cervical vertebrae, distal end of neural spine from dorsal vertebra, twentieth caudal vertebra (61 mm), twenty-first caudal vertebra (59 mm), twenty-second caudal vertebra (61 mm), twenty-third caudal vertebra (60 mm), twenty-fourth caudal vertebra (59 mm), twenty-seventh caudal vertebra (60 mm), twenty-eighth caudal vertebra (55 mm), twenty-ninth caudal vertebra (56 mm), thirtieth caudal vertebra (60 mm), thirty-first caudal vertebra (60 mm), thirty-second caudal vertebra (59 mm), thirty-fourth caudal vertebra (55 mm), thirty-fifth caudal vertebra (55 mm), thirty-sixth caudal vertebra (55 mm), thirty-seventh caudal vertebra (55 mm), thirty-ninth caudal vertebra (55 mm), fourtieth caudal vertebra (55 mm), fourty-fifth caudal vertebra (46 mm), fourty-seventh caudal vertebra (45 mm), scapula (285 mm), coracoid, distal end of humerus, distal ends of ulnae, proximal end of ulna, distal end of radius (Novas, 1986)
(PVSJ 104) fragmentary pelvis, fragmentary sacrum, fragmentary hindlimb (Novas, 1993)
(PVSJ 373) cervical vertebrae, third dorsal vertebra (34 mm), fourth dorsal vertebra (34 mm), fifth dorsal vertebra (35 mm), sixth dorsal vertebra (35 mm), seventh dorsal vertebra (38 mm), eighth dorsal vertebra (38 mm), ninth dorsal vertebra (38 mm), tenth dorsal vertebra (36 mm), eleventh dorsal vertebra (37 mm), twelfth dorsal vertebra (39 mm), thirteenth dorsal vertebra (42 mm), fourteenth dorsal vertebra (36 mm), fifteenth dorsal vertebra (36 mm), first sacral vertebra (43 mm), second sacral vertebra (39 mm), humerus (~175 mm), radius (153 mm), ulna (167 mm), radiale, ulnare, centrale, distal carpal I, distal carpal II, distal carpal III, distal carpal IV, metacarpal I (37 mm), phalanx I-1 (42 mm), manual ungual I (~36 mm), metacarpal II (58 mm), phalanx II-1 (36 mm), phalanx II-2 (37 mm), manual ungual II (~38 mm), metacarpal III (62 mm), phalanx III-1 (34 mm), phalanx III-2 (~28 mm), phalanx III-3 (32 mm), manual ungual III (~38 mm), metacarpal IV (33 mm), phalanx IV-1 (10 mm), metacarpal V (15 mm), femur (345 mm), tibia (315 mm), fibula (315 mm), astragalus (30 mm wide), calcaneum, distal tarsal III, distal tarsal IV, metatarsal I (100 mm), phalanx I-1 (42 mm), pedal ungual I (30 mm), metatarsal II (142 mm), phalanx II-1 (50 mm), phalanx II-2 (40 mm), pedal ungual II (37 mm), metatarsal III (165 mm), phalanx III-1 (55 mm), phalanx III-2 (38 mm), phalanx III-3 (34 mm), pedal ungual III (35 mm), metatarsal IV (143 mm), phalanx IV-1 (40 mm), phalanx IV-4 (24 mm), pedal ungual IV (30 mm), metatarsal V (85 mm) (Novas, 1993)
(PVSJ 380) scapula, radiale, ulnare, centrale, distal carpal I, distal carpal II, distal carpal III, distal carpal IV, metacarpal I (44 mm), phalanx I-1 (56 mm), manual ungual I (42 mm), metacarpal II (66 mm), phalanx II-1 (47 mm), phalanx II-2 (51 mm), manual ungual II (47 mm), metacarpal III (74 mm), phalanx III-1 (44 mm), phalanx III-2 (35 mm), phalanx III-3 (40 mm) (Sereno, 1993)
(PVSJ 407) nearly complete skeleton including skull (300 mm), sclerotic ring, stapes, lower jaws, proatlas, atlas (10 mm), axial intercentrum (11 mm), axis (33 mm), third cervical vertebra (40 mm), fourth cervical vertebra (~43 mm), fifth cervical vertebra (~44 mm), sixth cervical vertebra (~43 mm), seventh cervical vertebra, eighth cervical vertebra (31 mm), ninth cervical vertebra, tenth cervical vertebra, humerus (170 mm), radius, ulna (168 mm), radiale, ulnare, centrale, distal carpal I, distal carpal II, distal carpal III, distal carpal IV (Novas, 1993)
(PVSJ 409) partial scapulocoracoid (Sereno, 1993)
(PVSJ 461) nearly complete skeleton (Novas, 1993)
Comments- Originally referred to Carnosauria (Reig, 1963), Herrerasaurus was often viewed as a basal carnivorous sauropodomorph early on (Gryponychidae- Rozhdestvensky and Tatarinov, 1964; Plateosauridae- Romer, 1966; Steel, 1970; Teratosauridae- Colbert, 1970; Herrerasauridae- Van Heerden, 1979; Cooper, 1981). Van Heerden (1978) viewed Herrerasaurus as a basal sauropod though. A common placement in the late 1980's and early 1990's was as the sister group to Dinosauria (e.g. Brinkman and Sues, 1987; Sues, 1990). Benedetto (1973) and Galton (1973) excluded Herrerasaurus from Sauropodomorpha, but only provisionally placed it near basal Theropoda. This is close to the current understanding, where herrerasaurids are viewed as either basal saurischians or basal theropods (see comments under Herrerasauridae for more details).
Ischisaurus was first thought to represent a taxon intermediate between basal theropods and sauropodomorphs (Reig, 1963). Colbert (1970) placed it as a basal sauropodomorph "palaeosauriscid" with Staurikosaurus, Steel (1970) placed it in Anchisauridae, Galton and Cluver (1976) referred it to Theropoda, Paul (1988) placed it in Staurikosauridae outside Dinosauria, while Sues (1990) placed it in Herrerasauridae outside Dinosauria. Romer (1966) and Cooper (1981) were the first to synonymize it with Herrerasaurus, though without compelling evidence. Frenguellisaurus was first described as a primitive saurischian, probably with theropod affinities (Novas, 1986). It was later assigned to Herrerasauridae by Paul (1988). Novas (1992, 1993) synonymized the three taxa, as differences from Ischisaurus were due to incorrect referral of materials to the latter genus, and differences from Frenguellisaurus were due to mandibular preservation and not recognizing elongate distal caudal prezygopophyses in Herrerasaurus. This has been followed by subsequent workers.
Material incorrectly referred to Herrerasaurus and Ischisaurus includes- PVL 2264 (partial femur); PVL 2558b (premaxilla, maxillae, dentaries, vertebrae, humeri, ulnae, pubis); PVL 2559b (partial posterior dorsal vertebra, proximal tibia, proximal fibula) (Novas, 1993).
References- Reig, 1963. La presencia de dinosaurios saurisquios en los “Estratos de Ischigualasto” (Mesotriásico superior) de las provincias de San Juan y La Rioja (Republica Argentina). Ameghiniana. 3, 3-20.
Rozhdestvensky and Tatarinov, 1964. Order Saurischia. in Orlov (ed.). Osnovy Paleontologii. 529-552.
Romer, 1966. Vertebrate Paleontology, 3rd edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. 1-468.
Steel, 1970. Part 14. Saurischia. Handbuch der Paläoherpetologie/Encyclopedia of Paleoherpetology. Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart. 1-87.
Benedetto, 1973. Herrerasauridae, nueva familia de saurisquios triasicos. Ameghiniana. 10(1), 89-102.
Galton, 1973. On the anatomy and relationships of Efraasia diagnostica (Huene) n.gen., a prosauropod dinosaur (Reptilia: Saurischia) from the Upper Triassic of Germany. Paläontologische Zeitschrift. 47(3/4), 229-255.
Galton and Cluver, 1976. Anchisaurus capensis (Broom) and a revision of the Anchisauridae (Reptilia, Saurischia). Annals of the South African Museum. 69(6), 121-159.
van Heerden, 1978. Herrerasaurus and the origin of sauropod dinosaurs. South African Journal of Science. 74, 187-189.
van Heerden, 1979. The morphology and taxonomy of Euskelosaurus (Reptilia: Saurischia; Late Triassic) from South Africa. Navorsinge van die Nasionale Museum, Bloemfontein. 4, 21-84.
Cooper, 1981. The prosauropod dinosaur Massospondylus carinatus Owen from Zimbabwe: its biology, mode of life and phylogenetic significance. Occasional Papers of the National Museums and Monuments of Rhodesia (series B, Natural Sciences). 6, 689-840.
Novas, 1986. Un probable teropodo (Saurischia) de la Formación Ischigualasto (Triásico superior), San Juan, Argentina. [A probable theropod (Saurischia) from the Ischigualasto Formation (Upper Triassic), San Juan, Argentina.] [in Spanish, with English summ.]. Actas del Congreso Argentino de Paleontología y Bioestratigrafía. 4, 1-6.
Brinkman and Sues, 1987. A staurikosaurid dinosaur from the Upper Triassic Ischigualasto Formation of Argentina and the relationships of the Staurikosauridae. Palaeontology. 30, 493-503.
Paul, 1988. Predatory dinosaurs of the world. Simon and Schuster, New York. A New York Academy of Sciences Book. 464 pp.
Novas, 1989. The tibia and tarsus in Herrerasauridae (Dinosauria, incertae sedis) and the originn and evolution of the dinosaurian tarsus. Journal of Paleontology. 63, 677-690.
Molnar, 1990. Problematic Theropoda: "Carnosaurs". in Weishampel, et al. (eds.). The Dinosauria. University of California Press, Berkeley, Los Angeles, Oxford. 306-317.
Sues, 1990. Staurikosaurus and Herrerasauridae. in Weishampel, et al. (eds.). The Dinosauria. University of California Press, Berkeley, Los Angeles, Oxford. 143-147.
Novas, 1992. Phylogenetic relationships of the basal dinosaurs, the Herrerasauridae. Palaeontology. 35, 51-62.
Sereno and Novas, 1992. The complete skull and skeleton of an early dinosaur. Science. 258, 1137-1140.
Novas, 1993. New information on the systematics and postcranial skeleton of Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis (Theropoda: Herrerasauridae) from the Ischigualasto Formation (Upper Triassic) of Argentina. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 13, 400-423.
Sereno and Novas, 1993. The skull and neck of the basal theropod Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 13, 451-476.
Sereno, 1993. The pectoral girdle and forelimb of the basal theropod Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 13, 425-450.
Langer, 2004. Basal Saurischia. In Weishampel, Dodson and Osmolska. The Dinosauria Second Edition. University of California Press. 861 pp.
Sereno, 2007. The phylogenetic relationships of early dinosaurs: a comparative report. Historical Biology. 19(1), 145-155.

Staurikosaurus Colbert 1970
S. pricei Colbert 1970
Middle Carnian, Late Triassic
Alemoa Member of Santa Maria Formation, Brazil
Diagnosis- (after Novas, 1993) distal bevel on anterior margin of pubis.
(after Langer and Benton, 2006) anterior trochanter reduced to a scar.
Holotype- (MCZ 1669) (2.08 m, 19 kg) mandibles (191 mm), cervical vertebrae 4-10, dorsal vertebrae 1-15, sacrum, caudal vertebrae 1-45, distal scapula, ilia (90 mm), pubes (151 mm), ischia (122 mm), femora (230 mm), tibiae (245 mm)
Comments- Staurikosaurus was originally assigned to Palaeosauriscidae, a defunct family based largely on Efraasia. Van Heerden (1978; 1979) agreed. Galton (1973) suggested Staurikosaurus may be a theropod ancestor within Saurischia. He later (1977) erected the family Staurikosauridae for the genus, where it was placed by Brinkman and Sues (1987) and Paul (1988). These latter authors and Sues (1990) all viewed it as being a dinosauriform less closely related to dinosaurs than Herrerasaurus. Langer and Benton (2006) note the characters used to support this topology are invalid, though they find the poorly developed anterior trochanter could support it. Benedetto (1973) and Galton (1985) were the first to recognize Staurikosaurus and Herrerasaurus were more closely related to each other than to sauropodomorphs or avepods, placing them both in the Herrerasauridae and Herrerasauria respectively. This was confirmed by Novas (1992), and nearly every subsequent cladistic analysis agrees (e.g. Rauhut, 2003; Langer and Benton, 2006; Yates, 2007). One exception is Kischlat and Barbarena (1999) and Kischlat (2000), who find Staurikosaurus to be a basal sauropodomorph based on an unpublished phylogenetic analysis. This was due to the possible caudosacral vertebra, the lack of a trochanteric shelf, and a dorsolateral trochanter.
References- Colbert, 1970. A saurischian dinosaur from the Triassic of Brazil. American Museum Novitates. 2405, 1-39.
Benedetto, 1973. Herrerasauridae, nueva familia de saurisquios triasicos. Ameghiniana. 10(1), 89-102.
Galton, 1973. On the anatomy and relationships of Efraasia diagnostica (Huene) n.gen., a prosauropod dinosaur (Reptilia: Saurischia) from the Upper Triassic of Germany. Paläontologische Zeitschrift. 47(3/4), 229-255.
Galton, 1977. On Staurikosaurus pricei, an early saurischian dinosaur from the Triassic of Brazil, with notes on the Herrerasauridae and Poposauridae. Palaontologische Zeitschrift. 51, 234-245.
van Heerden, 1978. Herrerasaurus and the origin of sauropod dinosaurs. South African Journal of Science. 74, 187-189.
van Heerden, 1979. The morphology and taxonomy of Euskelosaurus (Reptilia: Saurischia; Late Triassic) from South Africa. Navorsinge van die Nasionale Museum, Bloemfontein. 4, 21-84.
Galton, 1985. The poposaurid thecodontian Teratosaurus suevicus v. Meyer, plus referred specimens mostly based on prosauropod dinosaurs, from the Middle Stubensandstein (Upper Triassic) of Nordwurttemberg. Stuttgart Beitrage zur Naturkunde (B). 116, 1-29.
Brinkman and Sues, 1987. A staurikosaurid dinosaur from the Upper Triassic Ischigualasto Formation of Argentina and the relationships of the Staurikosauridae. Palaeontology. 30, 493-503.
Paul, 1988. Predatory dinosaurs of the world. Simon and Schuster, New York. A New York Academy of Sciences Book. 464 pp.
Benton, 1990. Origin and interrelationships of dinosaurs. in Weishampel, et al. (eds.). The Dinosauria. University of California Press, Berkeley, Los Angeles, Oxford.11-30.
Sues, 1990. Staurikosaurus and Herrerasauridae. in Weishampel, et al. (eds.). The Dinosauria. University of California Press, Berkeley, Los Angeles, Oxford. 143-147.
Novas, 1992. Phylogenetic relationships of the basal dinosaurs, the Herrerasauridae. Palaeontology. 35, 51-62.
Novas, 1993. New information on the systematics and postcranial skeleton of Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis (Theropoda: Herrerasauridae) from the Ischigualasto Formation (Upper Triassic) of Argentina. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 13 p. 400-423.
Kischlat and Barbarena, 1999. Brazilian dinosaurs: new data. Paleontologia em Destaque, Boletim Informativo da Sociedade Brasileira de Paleontologia. 14(26).
Galton, 2000, Are Spondylosoma and Staurikosaurus (Santa Maria Formation, Middle-Upper Triassic, Brasil) the oldest saurischian dinosaurs? Palaontologische Zeitschrift. 74(3), 393-423.
Kischlat, 2000. Tecodoncios: A aurora dos Arcosaurios no Triassico. in Holz and De Rose (eds.). Paleontologia do Rio Grande do Sol. 273-316.
Rauhut, 2003. The interrelationships and evolution of basal theropod dinosaurs. Special Papers in Palaeontology. 69, 1-213.
Bittencourt and Kellner, 2004. The phylogenetic position of Staurikosaurus pricei Colbert, 1970 from the Triassic of Brazil. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 24(3).
Bittencourt, 2004. Revisao descritiva e posicionamento filogenetico de Staurikosaurus pricei Colbert 1970 (Dinosauria, Theropoda). Unpublished MSc thesis: Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro.
Langer, 2004. Basal Saurischia. In Weishampel, Dodson and Osmolska. The Dinosauria Second Edition. University of California Press. 861 pp.
Langer and Benton, 2006. Early dinosaurs: A phylogenetic study. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 4(4), 309-358.
Yates, 2007. Solving a dinosaurian puzzle: the identity of Aliwalia rex Galton. Historical Biology. 19(1), 93-123.
Bittencourt and Kellner, 2009. The anatomy and phylogenetic position of the Triassic dinosaur Staurikosaurus pricei Colbert, 1970. Zootaxa. 2079, 1-56.

unnamed clade (Allosaurus fragilis <- Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis)

Agnosphitys Fraser, Padian, Walkden and Davis, 2002
A. cromhallensis Fraser, Padian, Walkden and Davis, 2002
Late Triassic
Cromhall Quarry, England
Holotype- (VMNH 1745) ilium
Paratypes- ?(AUP 11095A) tooth
?(VMNH 1748) astragalus
?(VMNH 1749) astragalus
?(VMNH 1750) humerus
?(VMNH 1751) maxilla
? humerus, humeral fragments, nine partial and incomplete ilia, astragalus
Comments- In the original description, the new genus is listed as Agnosphitys, but the new species is listed as Agnostiphys cromhallensis. The names Agnosphitys and Agnostiphys are then used interchangeably throughout the paper. Fraser (2002) quickly published a note saying Agnosphitys is the intended spelling.
Fraser et al. (2002) believed Agnosphitys to be a dinosauriform less closely related to dinosaurs than Herrerasaurus is. Yet they differ from nearly all other recent authors in placing the latter taxon outside Dinosauria and Saurischia, bringing their conclusions into doubt. More recently, Yates (2007) included Agnosphitys in a cladistic analysis which found it to be a theropod less closely related to Avepoda than Chindesaurus and Guaibasaurus.
References- Fraser, Padian, Walkden and Davis, 2002. Basal dinosauriform remains from Britain and the diagnosis of the Dinosauria. Palaeontology. 45(1), 79-95.
Fraser, 2002. Corrigendum. Palaeontology. 45, 843.
Yates, 2007. Solving a dinosaurian puzzle: the identity of Aliwalia rex Galton. Historical Biology. 19(1), 93-123.

Alwalkeria Chatterjee and Creisler, 1993
= Walkeria Chatterjee, 1987
A. maleriensis (Chatterjee, 1987) Chatterjee and Creisler, 1993
= Walkeria maleriensis Chatterjee, 1987
Carnian, Late Triassic
Maleri Formation, India
Holotype- (ISI R 306) (?)dorsal vertebra (~20 mm), incomplete femur (122 mm), astragalus (25 mm wide, 13 mm tall)
Diagnosis- excavation of bases of dorsal neural arches; highly expanded femoral head; very prominant fourth trochanter.
Comments- Originally referred to Podokesauridae (Chatterjee, 1987), Alwalkeria was later assigned to Herrerasauridae by Paul (1988) based on unspecified femoral similarities, who viewed it as a link between traditional herrerasaurids and Protoavis. This latter link was due to the unserrated teeth though, which are no longer thought to be part of the holotype. Novas (1989) found the astragalus exhibited characters suggesting it was a Herrerasaurus-grade dinosaur, outside Avepoda. Norman (1990) viewed it as a theropod with no particularily close ties to coelophysoids. Rauhut and Remes (2005) find Alwalkeria to be chimaerical, with the anterior skull referrable to a crurotarsan, perhaps an ornithosuchid. This agrees with Rauhut's (2003) comments that the long mandibular symphysis is present in members of Crurotarsi. The partial cervical vertebra is said to resemble prolacertiforms, while the dorsal centra are highly variable in size and lamina development, suggesting they may belong to multiple taxa. The femur and astragalus are dinosaurian however, with the latter possessing saurischian characters. Rauhut and Remes state the femur lacks characters of sauropodomorphs or avepods though, suggesting a herrerasaurid- or Eoraptor-grade saurischian.
References- Chatterjee, 1987. A new theropod dinosaur from India with remarks on the Gondwana-Laurasia connection in the Late Triassic. Geophysical Monograph. 41, 183-189.
Paul, 1988. Predatory dinosaurs of the world. Simon and Schuster, New York. A New York Academy of Sciences Book. 464 pp.
Norman, 1990. Problematic Theropoda: "Coelurosaurs". in Weishampel, et al. (eds.). The Dinosauria. University of California Press, Berkeley, Los Angeles, Oxford. p. 280-305.
Novas, 1989. The tibia and tarsus in Herrerasauridae (Dinosauria, incertae sedis) and the origin and evolution of the dinosaurian tarsus. Journal of Paleontology. 63, 677-690.
Chatterjee and Creisler, 1994. Alwalkeria (Theropoda) and Morturneria (Plesiosauria), new names for preoccupied Walkeria Chatterjee, 1987 and Turneria Chatterjee and Small, 1989. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 14(1), 142.
Rauhut, 2003. The interrelationships and evolution of basal theropod dinosaurs. Special Papers in Palaeontology. 69, 1-213.
Remes and Rauhut, 2005. The oldest Indian dinosaur Alwalkeria maleriensis Chatterjee revised: a chimera including remains of a basal saurischian. in Kellner, Henriques and Rodrigues (eds). II Congresso Latino-Americano de Paleontologia de Vertebrados, Boletim de Resumos.Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro. 218.

Chindesaurus Long and Murry, 1995
= "Chindesaurus" Murry and Long, 1989
= Caseosaurus Hunt, Lucas, Heckert, Sullivan and Lockley, 1998
C. bryansmalli Long and Murry, 1995
= Caseosaurus crosbyensis Hunt, Lucas, Heckert, Sullivan and Lockley, 1998
Norian, Late Triassic
Petrified Forest Formation of Chinle Group, Arizona, US
Holotype- (PEFO 10395) (~2.4 m) tooth, incomplete cervical centrum (~32 mm), four posterior dorsal centra (27.5 mm), rib fragments, first sacral vertebra (32 mm), second sacral vertebra (38 mm), proximal caudal centrum, several mid caudal vertebrae, chevron, fragmentary ilia, proximal pubis, pubic shaft, ischial fragments, femora (one proximal) (265 mm), fragmentary tibia, astragalus (31 mm wide)
Paratypes- (TMM 31100-523) (~2.4 m) proximal femur (~265 mm)
?(UCMP coll.) (>2.4 m) two sacral centra
Referred- (GR 226) femur (Irmis et al., 2007)
(NMMNH P-35995) ilium (Nesbitt et al., 2007)
(PEFO 33982) nine vertebrae, ilium fragment, proximal femur, bone fragments (Nesbitt et al., 2007)
Late Carnian, Late Triassic
Tecovas Formation of Dockum Group, Texas, US
(UMMP 8870; holotype of Caseosaurus crosbyensis) partial ilium (140.5 mm)
Diagnosis- (after Nesbitt et al., 2007) triangular rugosity on the postacetabular process; proximal tibial intercondylar groove that is strongly situated medially; posterior edge of the fibular condyle of the proximal tibia that is straight in proximal view; ventral cleft on astragalus.
Comments- When first discovered in 1984, the holotype was referred to Prosauropoda in the popular literature (Meyer, 1986). Then assigned to Herrerasauridae by Long and Murray (1995), Hunt (1996), Novas (1997) and Hunt et al. (1998), Sereno (1999) found Chindesaurus to be the sister taxon of Staurikosaurus within Herrerasauridae in his phylogenetic analysis, while Bittencourt and Kellner's (2004) analysis found it to be a non-herrerasaurid herrerasaurian. Langer noted characters congruent with the latter assessment. Rauhut (2003) found it difficult to assign Chindesaurus to a less inclusive taxon than Dinosauriformes, though he agrees with Langer that the dorsals are less shortened than herrerasaurids. Furthermore, he finds the medially expanded brevis shelf resembles crurotarsans more than it does the laterally expanded brevis shelf of most dinosaurs. He believes the holotype may pertain to multiple individuals and/or taxa. Yates (2006) include Chindesaurus in a phylogenetic analysis of sauropodomorphs and find it to be a theropod closer to Avepoda than Guaibasaurus or Agnostiphys, which is tentatively followed here. Nesbitt et al. (2007) note a range of characters shared with various saurischians, complicating its phylogenetic relationships. Irmis et al. (2007) find Chindesaurus to be a herrerasaurid in their analysis, though they have a small taxon sample.
First identified as Coelophysis sp. by Case (1927), Long and Murray (1995) made UMMP 8870 a paratype of Chindesaurus bryansmalli. Hunt et al. (1998) later made it the holotype of a new taxon of herrerasaurid- Caseosaurus crosbyensis. This was based on the shallow brevis shelf, a more ventrally placed medial longitudinal ridge and a transversely thinner postacetabular blade. Langer (2004) has synonymized the taxa without comment, though Nesbitt et al. noted both the Chindesaurus and Caseosaurus holotypes lack brevis shelves and the other two differences are probably size related. Although they found an apomorphy shared by both specimens, they decided not to officially synonymize them due to their fragmentary condition. I follow Langer's decision to synonymize them here.
Nesbitt et al. find an ilium (NMMNH P-35995) originally assigned by Heckert et al. (2000, 2003) to Eucoelophysis sp. is extremely similar to the Caseosaurus holotype based on several characters. They also substantiate the referral of a proximal femur (TMM 31100-523) to Chindesaurus by Long and Murray based on a unique combination of characters, contra Hunt et al. (1998).
Hunt et al. (1998) described a tooth in the holotype which wasn't noted by Long and Murry (1995).
Long and Murry (1995) refer five dorsal centra (UCMP coll.) from the Mesa Redondo Member of the Chinle Formation to Chindesaurus, which were later assigned to Herrerasauridae indet. by Hunt et al. (1998).
PEFO 4849 is a dorsal centrum from the Petrified Forest Formation which was referred to Chindesaurus by Long and Murry (1995) and reassigned to Herrerasauridae indet. by Hunt et al. (1998).
NMMNH P4415 is a proximal femur from the Bull Canyon Formation which were referred to Chindesaurus by Long and Murry (1995) and reassigned to herrerasaurid A by Hunt (1994) and Hunt et al. (1998). However, herrerasaurid A is mostly based on the Gojirasaurus holotype, and this femur is listed here under Archosauria indet..
NMMNH P16656 consists of dorsal and caudal centra from the Bull Canyon Formation which were referred to Chindesaurus by Long and Murry (1995) and reassigned to herrerasaurid A by Hunt (1994) and Hunt et al. (1998), but were found to be unidentifiable past Archosauria indet. by Nesbitt et al. (2007).
NMMNH P17325 consists of a dorsal centrum from the Bull Canyon Formation which was referred to Chindesaurus by Long and Murry (1995) and reassigned to (?)Theropoda by Hunt (1994) and Hunt et al. (1998). Nesbitt et al. (2007) note dorsal centra referred to Chindesaurus are not diagnostic past Archosauria indet..
References- Case, 1927. The vertebral column of Coelophysis Cope. Contributions from the Museum of Geology, University of Michigan. 10, 209-222.
Meyer, 1986. D-Day on the Painted Desert. Arizona Highways. 62(7), 3-13.
Murry and Long, 1989. Geology and paleontology of the Chinle Formation, Petrified Forest National Park and vicinity, Arizona and a discussion of vertebrate fossils of the southwestern Upper Triassic. in Lucas and Hunt (eds). Dawn of the Age of Dinosaurs in the American Southwest. New Mexico Museum of Natural History, Albuquerque. 29-64.
Long and Murry, 1995. Late Triassic (Carnian and Norian) tetrapods from the Southwestern Unites States. New Mexico Museum Nat. History Sci. Bull. 4, 1-254.
Hunt, 1996. A new clade of herrerasaur-like theropods from the Late Triassic of western North America. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 16(3), 43A.
Novas, 1997. Herrerasauridae. pp. 303–311. in Currie and Padian (eds). Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs. Academic Press, San Diego.
Hunt, Lucas, Heckert, Sullivan and Lockley, 1998. Late Triassic Dinosaurs from the Western United States. Geobios. 31(4), 511-531.
Sereno, 1999. The evolution of dinosaurs. Science. 284, 2137-2147.
Heckert, Zeigler, Lucas, Rinehart and Harris, 2000. Preliminary description of coelophysoids (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Upper Triassic (Revueltian: early-mid Norian) Snyder quarry, north-central New Mexico. New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science Bulletin. 17, 27-32.
Heckert, Zeigler, Lucas and Rinehart, 2003. Coelophysids (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Upper Triassic (Revueltian) Snyder quarry. New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science Bulletin. 24, 127-132.
Rauhut, 2003. The interrelationship and evolution of basal theropod dinosaurs. Special Papers in Palaeontology. 69, 1-215.
Bittencourt and Kellner, 2004. The phylogenetic position of Staurikosaurus pricei Colbert, 1970 from the Triassic of Brazil. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 24(3).
Langer, 2004. Basal Saurischia. In Weishampel, Dodson and Osmolska. The Dinosauria Second Edition. University of California Press. 861 pp.
Irmis, Nesbitt, Padian, Smith, Turner, Woody and Downs, 2007. A Late Triassic dinosauromorph assemblage from New Mexico and the rise of dinosaurs. Science. 317, 358-361.
Nesbitt, Irmis and Parker, 2007. A critical re-evaluation of the Late Triassic dinosaur taxa of North America. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 5(2), 209–243.
Yates, 2007. Solving a dinosaurian puzzle: the identity of Aliwalia rex Galton. Historical Biology. 19(1), 93-123.

Guaibasauridae Bonaparte, Ferigolo and Ribeiro, 1999
Comments- Bonaparte et al. (1999) erected this as a monotypic family of basal saurischians, but Bonaparte et al. (2007) later referred Saturnalia to it in addition to Guaibasaurus. However, all cladistic analyses have found Saturnalia to be a basal sauropodomorph, while Guaibasaurus is a basal theropod.
References- Bonaparte, Ferigolo and Ribeiro, 1999. A new early Late Triassic saurischian dinosaur from Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. Proceedings of the Second Gondwanan Dinosaurs Symposium. National Science Museum Monographs, Tokyo. 15, 89-109.
Bonaparte, Brea, Schultz and Martinelli, 2007. A new specimen of Guaibasaurus candelariensis (basal Saurischia) from the Late Triassic Caturrita Formation of southern Brazil. Historical Biology. 19(1), 73-82.
Guaibasaurus Bonaparte, Ferigolo and Ribeiro, 1999
G. candelariensis Bonaparte, Ferigolo and Ribeiro, 1999
Early Norian, Late Triassic
Caturrita Formation, Brazil
Holotype- (MCN-PV 2355) five incomplete dorsal centra (22 mm), three incomplete mid dorsal neural arches, five incomplete dorsal ribs, incomplete first sacral centrum (29), incomplete second sacral centrum (19 mm), ten incomplete proximal caudal vertebrae (31 mm), several proximal chevrons (39 mm), incomplete scapula (116 mm), partial coracoid (28 mm), ilia (one incomplete, one fragmentary; ~87 mm), incomplete pubes (136 mm), incomplete ischia (131 mm), incomplete femora (~214 mm), incomplete tibiae (~212 mm), incomplete fibulae (~207 mm), fragmentary astragali, calcanea (one fragmentary), fragmentary distal tarsals, metatarsals I (57 mm), phalanges I-1, pedal unguals I, metatarsals II (85 mm), phalanges II-1, phalanges II-2, pedal unguals II, metatarsals III (95 mm), phalanges III-1, phalanges III-2, phalanges III-3, pedal unguals III, metatarsals IV (83 mm), phalanges IV-1, phalanges IV-2, phalanges IV-3, phalanges IV-4, pedal unguals IV, metatarsals V (41 mm)
Paratype- (MCN-PV 2356) incomplete tibia, incomplete fibula, astragalus (40 mm across), calcaneum (16 mm across), distal tarsal III, distal tarsal IV, metatarsal I, phalanx I-1, pedal ungual I, metatarsal II, phalanx II-1, phalanx II-2, pedal ungual II, metatarsal III, phalanx III-1, phalanx III-2, phalanx III-3, pedal ungual III, metatarsal IV, phalanx IV-1, phalanx IV-2, phalanx IV-3, phalanx IV-4, pedal ungual IV, metatarsal V
Referred- (UFRGS PV0725T) thirteen dorsal vertebrae (36 mm), twenty-three partial dorsal ribs, gastralia, four fragmentary sacral vertebrae, eighteen caudal vertebrae (sixth and eighth caudals 27 mm), ten chevrons, partial scapulae, partial coracoids, partial humeri (~145 mm), incomplete radius, incomplete ulna (~92 mm), two incomplete manus including metacarpal I, phalanx I-1, manual ungual I, metacarpal II, phalanx II-1, phalanx II-2, manual ungual II, metacarpal III, phalanx III-2, phalanx III-2, phalanx III-3, manual ungual III, metacarpal IV, ilia, pubes, ischia, femora (270 mm), incomplete tibiae, incomplete fibulae, partial astragali, partial calcanea, two pes including metatarsal II, phalanx II-1, phalanx II-2, pedal ungual II, metatarsal III, phalanx III-1, phalanx III-2, phalanx III-3, pedal ungual III, metatarsal IV, phalanx IV-1, phalanx IV-2, phalanx IV-3, phalanx IV-4, pedal ungual IV (Bonaparte, Brea, Schultz and Martinelli, 2007)
Comments- This taxon was described as a saurischian perhaps basal to both sauropodomorphs and theropods, or perhaps a basal sauropodomorph itself, by Bonaparte et al. (1999) (who nonetheless lists it as ?Theropoda in the systematic section). Bonaparte et al. (2007) had a similar conclusion, though neither of these papers used a cladistic system. Langer (2004) and Yates (2006) found it to be a theropod basal to avepods in their analyses, with Yates further finding it to be more derived than Agnosphitys and less than Chindesaurus. However, neither of these analyses use the new forelimb data of UFRGS PV0725T.
References- Bonaparte, Ferigolo and Ribeiro, 1999. A new early Late Triassic saurischian dinosaur from Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. Proceedings of the Second Gondwanan Dinosaurs Symposium. National Science Museum Monographs, Tokyo. 15, 89-109.
Langer, 2004. Basal Saurischia. In Weishampel, Dodson and Osmolska. The Dinosauria Second Edition. University of California Press. 861 pp.
Bonaparte, Brea, Schultz and Martinelli, 2007. A new specimen of Guaibasaurus candelariensis (basal Saurischia) from the Late Triassic Caturrita Formation of southern Brazil. Historical Biology. 19(1), 73-82.
Yates, 2007. Solving a dinosaurian puzzle: the identity of Aliwalia rex Galton. Historical Biology. 19(1), 93-123.

Avepoda Paul, 2002
Definition- (metatarsal I does not contact distal tarsals homologous with Allosaurus fragilis) (modified from Paul, 2002)
= Paleotheropoda Paul, 1988

Averostra Paul, 2002
Definition- (promaxillary fenestra homologous with Dromaeosaurus albertensis) (modified from Paul, 2002)
Other definitions- (Ceratosaurus nasicornis + Allosaurus fragilis) (Ezcurra and Cuny, 2007)
Comments- The presence of a promaxillary fenestra in dilophosaurids and "Megapnosaurus" kayentakatae suggests its absence in Coelophysis bauri and M. rhodesiensis is due to preservation or reversal. More data is required to determine whether Avepoda or Averostra is more inclusive.

Neotheropoda Bakker, 1986
Definition- (Coelophysis bauri + Passer domesticus) (Sereno, 2004; modified from Wilson et al., 2003; modified from Sereno, 1998)
Other definitions- (Ceratosaurus nasicornis + Passer domesticus) (modified from Padian et al., 1999)
(Ceratosaurus nasicornis + Allosaurus fragilis) (modified from Kischlat, 2002)
= Ceratosauria sensu Rowe and Gauthier, 1990
Definition- (Liliensternus liliensterni + Coelophysis bauri + "Syntarsus" rhodesiensis + "Syntarsus" kayentakatae + Segisaurus halli + Sarcosaurus woodi + Dilophosaurus wetherilli + Ceratosaurus nasicornis) (Rowe and Gauthier, 1990)

unnamed theropod (Parker and Irmis, 2005)
Carnian-Norian, Late Triassic
Sonsela Member of the Petrified Forest Formation of the Chinle Group, Arizona, US
Material- (PEFO 31187) proximal femur
Reference- Parker and Irmis, 2005. Advances in Late Triassic vertebrate paleontology based on new material from Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona. Vertebrate Paleontology in Arizona, New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 29:45-58.

undescribed theropod (Parker and Irmis, 2005)
Norian, Late Triassic
Petrified Forest Formation of the Chinle Group, Arizona, US
Material- (PEFO 33984) proximal femur
Reference- Parker and Irmis, 2005. Advances in Late Triassic vertebrate paleontology based on new material from Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona. Vertebrate Paleontology in Arizona, New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 29:45-58.

undescribed theropod (Nesbitt, Irmis and Parker, 2007)
Late Carnian, Late Triassic
Mesa Redondo Formation of the Chinle Group, Arizona, US
Material- (UCMP 25820) distal tibia (Nesbitt et al., 2007)
Reference- Nesbitt, Irmis and Parker, 2007. A critical re-evaluation of the Late Triassic dinosaur taxa of North America. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 5(2), 209–243.

"Magnosaurus" lydekkeri (Huene, 1926) Huene, 1932
= Megalosaurus lydekkeri Huene, 1926
Sinemurian, Early Jurassic
Lower Lias, England
Holotype- (BMNH 41352) maxillary fragment, tooth
References- Huene, 1926 The carnivorous Saurischia in the Jura and Cretaceous formations, principally in Europe. Revista Museo de La Plata, 29, 35-167.
Huene, 1932. Die fossile Reptil-Ordnung Saurischia, ihre Entwicklung und Geschichte. Monog. Geol. Pal. 4 (1) pts. 1 and 2, viii + 361 pp.

"Newtonsaurus" Welles vide Welles and Pickering, 1999
"N." cambrensis (Newton, 1899) Welles vide Welles and Pickering, 1999
= Zanclodon cambrensis Newton, 1899
= Gresslyosaurus cambrensis (Newton, 1899)
= Megalosaurus cambrensis (Newton, 1899)
Rhaetian, Late Triassic
Rhaetic Beds, Wales
Holotype- dentary (275 mm), teeth (to 29 mm)
Comments- Rauhut and Hungerbuhler (2000) note that the three supposed derived characters shared with Megalosaurus are not valid. The angular rostral margin is found in Liliensternus, Syntarsus and Sellosaurus for instance. The separate interdental plates are found in Plateosaurus, Dilophosaurus and several other theropods. The third character, "replacement teeth exposed at base between interdental plates", is correlated with separate interdental plates. The authors find it agrees quite well with Liliensternus and Dilophosaurus, but refer it to Theropoda indet.. Welles (1984) found several differences from Dilophosaurus, so I think we should wait for an in depth analysis to proclaim this specimen indeterminate.
References- Newton, 1899. On a megalosauroid jaw from Rhaetic Beds near Bridgend (Glamorganshire). Q. J. Geol. Soc. London 55: 89-96.
Welles, 1984. Dilophosaurus wetherilli (Dinosauria, Theropoda), osteology and comparisons. Palaeontographica. Beiträge zur Naturgeschichte der Vorzeit. Abteilung A: Paläozoologie, Stratigraphie 185 p. 85-180.
Welles and Pickering, 1999. An Extract From: Archosauromorpha: Cladistics and Osteologies. 70 pp.
Rauhut and Hungerbuhler, 2000. A review of European Triassic theropods. Gaia 15, 75-88.