Relating to or characteristic of aetosaurs; describing something resembling or pertaining to these armored Triassic reptiles.
From aetosaur + -ian (relating to). This adjective form allows scientists to describe features or characteristics of these extinct creatures.
When paleontologists find a fossil with that distinctive pattern of bony armor plates, they say it has 'aetosaurian characteristics'—it's basically a shorthand way of saying 'this thing is definitely related to those Triassic armored reptiles.'
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