Bathyotica is a clade

Clade

A clade is a group consisting of a species and all its descendants. In the terms of biological systematics, a clade is a single "branch" on the "tree of life". The idea that such a "natural group" of organisms should be grouped together and given a taxonomic name is central to biological...

 of crurotarsan archosaur

Archosaur

Archosaurs are a group of diapsid amniotes whose living representatives consist of modern birds and crocodilians. This group also includes all extinct non-avian dinosaurs, many extinct crocodilian relatives, and pterosaurs. Archosauria, the archosaur clade, is a crown group that includes the most...

s that includes the superorder Crocodylomorpha

Crocodylomorpha

The Crocodylomorpha are an important group of archosaurs that include the crocodilians and their extinct relatives.During Mesozoic and early Tertiary times the Crocodylomorpha were far more diverse than they are now. Triassic forms were small, lightly built, active terrestrial animals. These were...

 and its sister taxon Erpetosuchus

Erpetosuchus

Erpetosuchus is an extinct genus of crurotarsan from the Late Triassic. It was first described by E. T. Newton in 1894 for remains found in northeastern Scotland, with more remains found in the United States in recent years. Erpetosuchus is the sister-taxon to Crocodylomorpha.The type species of...

, a small Triassic

Triassic

The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...

 suchia

Suchia

Suchia is a clade of archosaurs that includes all pseudosuchians except ornithosuchids. It includes crocodilians and their extinct relatives. Paul Sereno defined Suchia as the least inclusive clade containing Aetosaurus ferratus, Rauisuchus tiradentes, Prestosuchus chiniquensis, Gracilisuchus...

n. Bathyotica was named in a 2002 phylogenetic study of Erpetosuchus. The genus was found to be closely related to crocodylomorphs, and Bathyotica was erected to encompass both taxa.

Bathyotica has several apomorphies, characteristics that distinguish it from more basal

Basal (phylogenetics)

In phylogenetics, a basal clade is the earliest clade to branch in a larger clade; it appears at the base of a cladogram.A basal group forms an outgroup to the rest of the clade, such as in the following example:...

 crurotarsans. A prominent feature is the forward sloping of the quadrate

Quadrate bone

The quadrate bone is part of a skull in most tetrapods, including amphibians, sauropsids , and early synapsids. In these animals it connects to the quadratojugal and squamosal in the skull, and forms part of the jaw joint .- Evolutionary variation :In snakes, the quadrate bone has become elongated...

 and quadratojugal

Quadratojugal

The quadratojugal is a small jaw bone that is present in most amphibians, reptiles, and birds, but has been lost in mammals. It is connected to the jugal as well as other bones, though these may vary with species....

 bones at the back of the skull. The sloping bones open up a space called the otic recess, which is positioned behind the lower temporal fossa, a hole on the side of the skull behind the eye sockets. Members of Bathyotica also lack a postfrontal bone.