Editing Triassic (section)

=== Reptiles ===
==== Archosauromorphs ====
The Permian–Triassic extinction devastated terrestrial life. Biodiversity rebounded as the [[pioneer organisms|surviving species]] repopulated empty terrain, but these were short-lived. Diverse communities with complex [[food-web]] structures took 30 million years to reestablish.<ref name="SahneyBenton2008RecoveryFromProfoundExtinction" /><ref name="EVOLUTION">{{cite book |author1=Douglas Palmer |author2=Peter Barrett |title=Evolution: The Story of Life |year=2009 |publisher=The Natural History Museum |location=London |isbn=978-1-84533-339-3}}</ref> [[Archosauromorpha|Archosauromorph]] reptiles, which had already appeared and diversified to an extent in the Permian Period, exploded in diversity as an [[adaptive radiation]] in response to the Permian-Triassic mass extinction. By the Early Triassic, several major archosauromorph groups had appeared. Long-necked, lizard-like early archosauromorphs were known as [[Protorosauria|protorosaurs]], which is likely a paraphyletic group rather than a true clade. [[Tanystropheidae|Tanystropheids]] were a family of protorosaurs which elevated their neck size to extremes, with the largest genus ''[[Tanystropheus]]'' having a neck longer than its body. The protorosaur family [[Sharovipterygidae]] used their elongated hindlimbs for gliding. Other archosauromorphs, such as [[rhynchosaur]]s and [[Allokotosauria|allokotosaurs]], were mostly stocky-bodied herbivores with specialized jaw structures.

Rhynchosaurs, barrel-gutted herbivores, thrived for only a short period of time, becoming extinct about 220 million years ago. They were exceptionally abundant in the middle of the Triassic, as the primary large herbivores in many Carnian-age ecosystems. They sheared plants with premaxillary beaks and plates along the upper jaw with multiple rows of teeth. Allokotosaurs were iguana-like reptiles, including ''[[Trilophosaurus]]'' (a common Late Triassic reptile with three-crowned teeth), ''[[Teraterpeton]]'' (which had a long beak-like snout), and ''[[Shringasaurus]]'' (a horned herbivore which reached a body length of {{convert|3–4|m}}).

One group of archosauromorphs, the [[Archosauriformes|archosauriforms]], were distinguished by their active predatory lifestyle, with serrated teeth and upright limb postures. Archosauriforms were diverse in the Triassic, including various terrestrial and semiaquatic predators of all shapes and sizes. The large-headed and robust [[Erythrosuchidae|erythrosuchids]] were among the dominant carnivores in the early Triassic. [[Phytosaurs]] were a particularly common group which prospered during the Late Triassic. These long-snouted and semiaquatic predators resemble living crocodiles and probably had a similar lifestyle, hunting for fish and small reptiles around the water's edge. However, this resemblance is only superficial and is a prime-case of convergent evolution.

True [[archosaur]]s appeared in the early Triassic, splitting into two branches: [[Avemetatarsalia]] (the ancestors to birds) and [[Pseudosuchia]] (the ancestors to crocodilians). Avemetatarsalians were a minor component of their ecosystems, but eventually produced the earliest [[pterosaur]]s and [[dinosaur]]s in the Late Triassic. Early long-tailed pterosaurs appeared in the Norian and quickly spread worldwide. Triassic dinosaurs evolved in the Carnian and include early sauropodomorphs and theropods. Most Triassic dinosaurs were small predators and only a few were common, such as ''[[Coelophysis]]'', which was {{convert|1|to|2|m|ft}} long. Triassic [[Sauropodomorpha|sauropodomorphs]] primarily inhabited cooler regions of the world.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dunne |first1=Emma M. |last2=Farnsworth |first2=Alexander |last3=Benson |first3=Roger B. J. |last4=Godoy |first4=Pedro L. |last5=Greene |first5=Sarah E. |last6=Valdes |first6=Paul J. |last7=Lunt |first7=Daniel J. |last8=Butler |first8=Richard J. |date=9 January 2023 |title=Climatic controls on the ecological ascendancy of dinosaurs |journal=[[Current Biology]] |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=206–214 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2022.11.064 |pmid=36528026 |s2cid=254754419 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2023CBio...33E.206D |hdl=1983/aea1ae86-2260-4d4d-a9d5-0fe38a0f470e |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

The large predator ''[[Smok (archosaur)|Smok]]'' was most likely also an archosaur, but it is uncertain if it was a primitive dinosaur or a pseudosuchian.

Pseudosuchians were far more ecologically dominant in the Triassic, including large herbivores (such as [[aetosaur]]s), large carnivores ("[[rauisuchia]]ns"), and the first [[crocodylomorphs]] ("[[sphenosuchia]]ns"). [[Aetosaurs]] were heavily-armored reptiles that were common during the last 30 million years of the Late Triassic until they died out at the Triassic-Jurassic extinction. Most aetosaurs were herbivorous and fed on low-growing plants, but some may have eaten meat. "[[rauisuchia]]ns" (formally known as [[Paracrocodylomorpha|paracrocodylomorphs]]) were the keystone predators of most Triassic terrestrial ecosystems. Over 25 species have been found, including giant quadrupedal hunters, sleek bipedal omnivores, and lumbering beasts with deep sails on their backs. They probably occupied the large-predator niche later filled by theropods. "Rauisuchians" were ancestral to small, lightly-built crocodylomorphs, the only pseudosuchians which survived into the Jurassic.

<gallery class="center">
File:Tanystropheus NT small.jpg|''[[Tanystropheus]],'' a long-necked [[Tanystropheidae|tanystropheid]]
File:Proterosuchus BW.jpg|''[[Proterosuchus]]'', a crocodile-like early archosauriform from the Early Triassic
File:Staurikosaurus BW.jpg|''[[Staurikosaurus]],'' one of the earliest dinosaurs, a member of the Triassic family [[Herrerasauridae]]
File:Postosuchus kirkpatricki.jpg|''[[Postosuchus]],'' a [[Rauisuchidae|rauisuchid]] which was an [[apex predator]] in parts of Late Triassic North America
File:Sellosaurus.jpg|''[[Plateosaurus]]'' was one of the largest of early [[sauropodomorph]]s, or "prosauropods", of the Late Triassic
File:Coelophysis size flipped.jpg|''[[Coelophysis]]'' was one of the most abundant theropod dinosaurs in the Late Triassic
</gallery>

==== Marine reptiles ====
[[File:Triassic marine vertebrate apex predators.png|thumb|upright=1.2|Marine vertebrate apex predators of the [[Early Triassic]] and [[Anisian]] (Middle Triassic)<ref>Scheyer et al. (2014): Early Triassic Marine Biotic Recovery: The Predators' Perspective. PLoS ONE  https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0088987</ref>]]
There were many types of marine reptiles. These included the [[Sauropterygia]], which featured [[pachypleurosaur]]s and [[nothosaur]]s (both common during the Middle Triassic, especially in the [[Tethys Ocean|Tethys]] region), [[placodont]]s, the earliest known herbivorous marine reptile ''[[Atopodentatus]]'', and the first [[plesiosaur]]s. The first of the lizard-like [[Thalattosauria]] (''[[Askeptosaurus]]'') and the highly successful [[Ichthyopterygia|ichthyopterygian]]s, which appeared in [[Early Triassic]] seas, soon diversified. By the Middle Triassic, some ichthyopterygians were achieving very large body masses.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Zakharov |first1=Y. D. |last2=Nakajima |first2=Y. |last3=Arkhangelsky |first3=M. S. |last4=Popov |first4=A. M. |last5=Bondarenko |first5=L. G. |last6=Smyshlyaeva |first6=O. P. |last7=Pokrovsky |first7=V. K. |date=15 May 2024 |title=New Finds of Triassic Marine Reptiles from Eastern Russia: Ammonoid Age Control and Possible Evidence for Ichthyopterygian Affinities |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1134/S0869593824030080 |journal=[[Stratigraphy and Geological Correlation]] |language=en |volume=32 |issue=3 |pages=242–264 |doi=10.1134/S0869593824030080 |issn=0869-5938 |access-date=13 August 2024 |via=Springer Link|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==== Other reptiles ====
Among other reptiles, the earliest [[turtle]]s, like ''[[Proganochelys]]'' and ''[[Proterochersis]]'', appeared during the [[Norian]] Age (Stage) of the Late Triassic Period. The [[Lepidosauromorpha]], specifically the [[Sphenodontia]], are first found in the fossil record of the earlier Carnian Age, though the earliest lepidosauromorphs likely occurred in the Permian. The [[Procolophonidae]], the last surviving [[Parareptilia|parareptiles]], were an important group of small lizard-like herbivores. The [[drepanosaur]]s were a clade of unusual, chameleon-like arboreal reptiles with birdlike heads and specialised claws.