New data on the skull of Protorosaurus speneri and their phylogenetic significance

The late Permian (Lopingian) reptile Protorosaurus speneri has long been considered the earliest-diverging archosauromorph. Although it is known from extensive skeletal material from the Kupferschiefer of the Werra Formation of Germany, its skull has remained incompletely known. Extensive preparation and CT scanning of a referred skull have provided much additional information on the cranial structure, especially the basicranial and palatal regions. Phylogenetic analysis integrating the new anatomical data supports the hypothesis that Protorosaurus speneri is the earliest-diverging archosauromorph to date., Morphological character-states, based on a re-examination of the skull of Protorosaurus speneri. Primary focus on the mandible, palate and dnetiotion. CT data and their segmentation formed an important part of this study., , # New data on the skull of *Protorosaurus speneri* (Reptilia: Archosauromorpha) and their phylogenetic significance

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.547d7wmm7](http://10.0.19.197/dryad.547d7wmm7)

## Description of the data and file structure

These files are related to morphological phylogenetic analysis conducted under maximum parsimony.

### Files and variables

#### File: Character_matrix_Protorosaurus.nex

Description: Complete character matrix used for the analysis in Mesquite format. Similar to the TNT file but in a different format; includes the character matrix, taxon names, character definitions, and possibly trees or command blocks.

#### File: Character_matrix_Protorosaurus.tnt

Description: Complete character matrix used for the analysis in ant format. Input file for running a phylogenetic analysis in TNT. It encodes morphological character data used to infer evolutionary relationships.

#### File: Supplementary_Information_Phylogeny.txt

Description: Supplementary Information ...,