 Aetosaurs (aetosaur / eɪˌɛtoʊˈsɔːr /; order name Aetosauria / eɪˌɛtoʊˈsɔːriə /; from Greek, ἀετός ( aetos, "eagle") and σαυρος (sauros, "lizard") ) are an extinct order of heavily armoured, medium- to large-sized Late Triassic herbivorous archosaurs. They have small heads, upturned snouts, erect limbs, and a body covered by plate-like scutes. All aetosaurs belong to the family Stagonolepididae. Two distinct subdivisions of aeotosaurs are currently recognized, Desmatosuchinae and Aetosaurinae, based primarily on differences in the morphology of the bony scutes of the two groups. Over 20 genera of aetosaurs have been described, and recently there has been controversy regarding the description of some of these genera.
