What is "prolacerta"

Prolacerta (meaning "before lizard" in Latin) is an extinct genus of archosauromorph reptile from the Early Triassic. It includes one species, Prolacerta broomi, named in 1935 from the Karoo Basin of South Africa. Remains of Prolacerta have also been found from Antarctica. Prolacerta is traditionally classified as a member of Prolacertiformes, a group of basal archosauromorphs that also includes protorosaurids and tanystropheids. However, most recent phylogenetic analyses place it in a more derived position as the sister taxon of Archosauriformes, thereby making the traditional Prolacertiformes a polyphyletic group. "Prolacertiformes" is currently restricted by definition to Prolaceta alone, and the rest of the traditional prolacertiformes are known as protorosaurs.