Dyoplax

Dyoplax Temporal range: 228 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓ Late Triassic
Original lithographic illustration of the holotype of Dyoplax arenaceus, from Fraas, 1867
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Clade:	Pseudosuchia
Family:	†Erpetosuchidae
Genus:	†Dyoplax Fraas, 1867
Type species
†Dyoplax arenaceus Fraas, 1867

Dyoplax is an extinct genus of pseudosuchian archosaur. Fossils have been found from the type locality within the upper Schilfsandstein Formation in Stuttgart,Germany. The formation was deposited during the early Carnian stage of the Late Triassic 228 million years ago in a lagoonal paleoenvironment. Numerous bivalves, chondrichthyean fish such as Palaeobates, trematosaurian temnospondyls such as Metoposaurus, a phytosaur, and plants such as Neocalamites and Equisetites were also present in the paleoenvironment that existed at the time. The holotype specimen was a cast of a nearly complete skeleton that lacked only parts of the tail and limb bones.

When originally described, Dyoplax was said to have had "the head of a lizard and the armor of a gavial". When the taxon Pseudosuchia was first proposed in 1890, Dyoplax was considered one of the three genera within the clade, and was included within the family "Aetosauridae". Several other papers published in later years have also placed the genus within Pseudosuchia. In 1956 the genus was referred to Notochampsidae, now known as Protosuchidae. It was suggested to be a possible erpetosuchid in 1966, but was later classified as one of the earliest protosuchids in 1994.