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Which living animals are descendants of archosaurian reptiles?

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A painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) with a dark shell and red and yellow markings rests on a rock near water, surrounded by green aquatic plants. — reptile Painted turtle (*Chrysemys picta*).

The living animals that are descendants of archosaurian reptiles are crocodiles and birds.1

Archosaurs, or "ruling reptiles," are divided into two primary branches:1

Pseudosuchia: This branch includes modern crocodiles and all other archosaurs more closely related to crocodiles than to birds.1
Ornithosuchia: This branch includes birds and all archosaurs more closely related to birds than to crocodiles. Because birds evolved from small theropod dinosaurs, they are formally classified as members of the dinosaur group.12

While most other archosaurian groups—such as non-avian dinosaurs and pterosaurs—became extinct by the end of the Cretaceous Period, crocodiles and birds remain as the surviving representatives of this lineage.1