Lagerpetidae (/ˌlædʒərˈpɛtɪdiː/; originally Lagerpetonidae) is a family of basalavemetatarsalians. Though traditionally considered the earliest-diverging dinosauromorphs (reptiles closer to dinosaurs than to pterosaurs), fossils described in 2020 suggested that lagerpetids are instead pterosauromorphs (closer to pterosaurs).[2][3] Lagerpetid fossils are known from the Triassic of San Juan (Argentina), Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas (United States), Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), and Madagascar.[4][5][6][7][2] They were generally small animals; the largerst lagerpetids include Dromomeron gigas and a specimen from the Santa Rosa Formation attributed to D. sp. (femoral length 15–22 cm (5.9–8.7 in)).[8][9] Lagerpetid fossils are rare; the most common finds are bones of the hindlimbs, which possessed a number of unique features.[10]
^Garcia, Maurício S.; Müller, Rodrigo T.; Da-Rosa, Átila A.S.; Dias-da-Silva, Sérgio (April 2019). "The oldest known co-occurrence of dinosaurs and their closest relatives: A new lagerpetid from a Carnian (Upper Triassic) bed of Brazil with implications for dinosauromorph biostratigraphy, early diversification and biogeography". Journal of South American Earth Sciences. 91: 302–319. Bibcode:2019JSAES..91..302G. doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2019.02.005. S2CID133873065.
^Beyl, Alexander; Nesbitt, Sterling; Stocker, Michelle R. (2020-07-07). "An Otischalkian dinosauromorph assemblage from the Los Esteros Member (Santa Rosa Formation) of New Mexico and its implications for biochronology and lagerpetid body size". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 40: e1765788. doi:10.1080/02724634.2020.1765788. ISSN0272-4634. S2CID221751762.