Anatomy

Although the most diverse clade of living archosauromorphs are

birds, early members of the group were evidently reptilian,
superficially similar to modern lizards. When archosauromorphs first
appeared in the fossil record in the Permian, they were represented
by long-necked, lightly-built sprawling reptiles with moderately long,
tapering snouts. This body plan, similar to that of modern 
monitor lizards, is also shared by Triassic archosauromorphs such as 
tanystropheids and Prolacerta. Other early groups such as
trilohpsaurids, azendohsaurids, and rhynchosaurs deviate from this
body plan by evolving into stockier forms with semi-erect postures
and higher metabolisms. The archosauriforms went to further
extremes of diversity, encompassing giant sauropod dinosaurs, flying 
pterosaurs and birds, semiaquatic crocodilians, phytosaurs, and 
proterochampsians, and apex predators such as erythrosuchids, 
pseudosuchians, and theropod dinosaurs. Despite the staggering
diversity of archosauromorphs, they can still be united as a clade
thanks to several subtle skeletal features.[2]