| Unaysaurids | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Restoration ofUnaysaurus | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Clade: | †Bagualosauria |
| Clade: | †Unaysauridae Mülleret al., 2018 |
| Genera | |
Unaysauridae is aclade of basalsauropodomorphs from the LateTriassic ofIndia andBrazil.
Unaysauridae was defined by Mülleret al. (2018) as the most inclusive clade includingUnaysaurus tolentinoi, but notPlateosaurus engelhardti norSaltasaurus loricatus.[1]
Members of Unaysauridae are diagnosed by a substantially expanded cranial part of the medial condyle of the astragalus, as well as a promaxillary fenestra. Unaysauridae is sister to Plateosauria, more derived thanNambalia,Thecodontosaurus ISI R277,Pantydraco, andEfraasia.[1]Unaysaurus andJaklapallisaurus had previously been assigned toPlateosauridae by prior authors.[2][3] However, Beccariet al. (2021) questioned the validity of Unaysauridae in their description ofIssi saaneq because it "suffers from the missing data and fragmentary nature of specimens. For example, one synapomorphy of unaysaurids is related to the astragalus medial end length ratio to the anteroposterior length of the lateral end, a which has not been confirmed inU. tolentinoi, whereas a second synapomorphy, the presence of a promaxillary fenestra, cannot be observed inJ. asymmetricawhich lacks the required cranial remains."[4] Subsequently, their phylogenetic analysis recoveredUnaysaurus andMacrocollum within Plateosauridae.[4]
