When the first phytosaur fossils were found, it was not immediately obvious what kind of animal/species they were.
The first phytosaur species known to science was named Phytosaurus cylindricodon - "plant lizard with cylindrical teeth" - by G. Jaeger in 1828 because he mistakenly believed that petrified mud fillings in the jaw were herbivore teeth.
The specimen is too poor to be diagnostic, and this species name is no longer valid.
The name of the group - Phytosauria - was coined by the German paleontologist Hermann von Meyer in 1861, on the basis of this first species.

The next species to be described was Belodon plieningeri by von Meyer in von Meyer and Plieninger 1844.
The altogether more appropriate name Parasuchia ("alongside the crocodiles", as they resembled crocodiles to a great degree) was coined by Thomas Huxley in 1875 along with his discovery and naming of the Indian species Parasuchus hislopi (Chatterjee, 1978), on the basis of a partial snout.
The specimen also is usually considered non-diagnostic, and the name Parasuchus replaced by Paleorhinus.
Although the names Parasuchidae and Phytosauridae are variously still used by different specialists, "phytosaur" is the standard generic name for these animals, despite the fact that these animals have been clearly shown to be carnivorous.
When the first phytosaur fossils were found, it was not immediately obvious what kind of animal/species they were. The first phytosaur species known to science was named Phytosaurus cylindricodon - "plant lizard with cylindrical teeth" - by G. Jaeger in 1828 because he mistakenly believed that petrified mud fillings in the jaw were herbivore teeth. The specimen is too poor to be diagnostic, and this species name is no longer valid. The name of the group - Phytosauria - was coined by the German paleontologist Hermann von Meyer in 1861, on the basis of this first species.
The next species to be described was Belodon plieningeri by von Meyer in von Meyer and Plieninger 1844. The altogether more appropriate name Parasuchia ("alongside the crocodiles", as they resembled crocodiles to a great degree) was coined by Thomas Huxley in 1875 along with his discovery and naming of the Indian species Parasuchus hislopi (Chatterjee, 1978), on the basis of a partial snout. The specimen also is usually considered non-diagnostic, and the name Parasuchus replaced by Paleorhinus. Although the names Parasuchidae and Phytosauridae are variously still used by different specialists, "phytosaur" is the standard generic name for these animals, despite the fact that these animals have been clearly shown to be carnivorous.
Phytosaur