noun
- Members of an extinct group of reptiles that includes dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and crocodilians; a major clade of archosaurs.
Usage: plural of archosaurian; technical/scientific term; used in paleontology and evolutionary biology
Examples
- Archosaurians dominated terrestrial ecosystems for over 160 million years during the Mesozoic Era.
- Dinosaurs and pterosaurs were both archosaurians that evolved from a common ancestor.
- Modern crocodiles are the only living archosaurians still in existence today.
- Paleontologists study archosaurians to understand the evolution of reptiles.
- The fossil record shows that archosaurians were highly diverse and successful animals.