Prolacerta is a genus of archosauromorph from the lower Triassic of South Africa and Antarctica. The only known species is Prolacerta broomi. The generic name Prolacerta is derived from Latin meaning “before lizard” and its species name broomi is in commemoration of the famous paleontologist Robert Broom, who discovered and studied many of the fossils found in rocks of the Karoo Supergroup. When first discovered, Prolacerta was considered to be ancestral to modern lizards, scientifically known as lacertilians. However, a study by Gow (1975) instead found that it shared more similarities with the lineage that would lead to archosaurs such as crocodilians and dinosaurs. Prolacerta is considered by modern paleontologists to be among the closest relatives of the Archosauriformes.
Life restoration of Prolacerta broomi
Archosauromorpha is a clade of diapsid reptiles containing all reptiles more closely related to archosaurs rather than lepidosaurs. Archosauromorphs first appeared during the late Middle Permian or Late Permian, though they became much more common and diverse during the Triassic period.
Archosauromorpha
An interaction between two archosauromorphs: Ornithosuchus ( a member of Archosauriformes) scavenging on Hyperodapedon (a rhynchosaur)
The skeleton of Protorosaurus, one of the oldest archosauromorphs and namesake of the problematic group "Protorosauria"
Champsosaurus, a gharial-like choristodere which survived the Cretaceous-Paleocene extinction event. Choristoderes may represent the fifth group of archosauromorphs, but their origin is obscured.