Anchisaurus [SEP] parent taxon
and were only tentatively referred to "Ammosaurus". A further study identified them as a new taxon of sauropodomorph, "Fendusaurus eldoni".
Classification.
Due to its primitive appearance, "Anchisaurus" was previously classified as a prosauropod, a member of a group of animals related to or ancestral to the sauropods. Recent investigations show that a group of traditional prosauropods form a monophyletic sister-group to Sauropoda, and that "Anchisaurus" is instead closer to sauropods.
The family Anchisauridae was first proposed by Othniel
Plateosauridae, but more recent phylogenetic analysis conducted by Novas "et al." (2011) shows that this genus is part of the taxon Massopoda in a clade with "Anchisaurus" and "Jingshanosaurus". Apaldetti et al. (2011) also found that "Yunnanosaurus" belonged in Massopoda, but found that this genus was more primitive than both Jingshanosaurus and Anchisaurus.
Classification Distinguishing anatomical features.
A diagnosis is a statement of the anatomical features of an organism (or group) that collectively distinguish it from all other