The pseudosuchian archosaur Ornithosuchus, from the Lossiemouth Sandstone Formation (Late Triassic), Scotland, was the first ornithosuchid to be discovered, and the only one recorded, in the northern hemisphere. The fossil record of “Ornithosuchus longidens” is mainly based on natural moulds and, in a few cases, three-dimensional bony elements, complicating the interpretation of its anatomy. The taxonomy of this species has changed several times since the late 1800s and here we revisit its current status. The synonymy of “Dasygnathoides longidens” and Ornithosuchus woodwardi proposed by Walker (1964) is rejected, based on new interpretations of the holotype and referred specimens of “Dasygnathoides longidens”. The latter species is considered as a nomen dubium, because it lacks diagnostic features and cannot be identified beyond Pseudosuchia. As a result, Ornithosuchus woodwardi is resurrected as a valid species and its diagnosis is emended. The body size range of Ornithosuchus woodwardi is reduced to about a half, because ELGNM 1, previously considered the largest specimen of the genus, can no longer be referred to it. “Dasygnathoides longidens” cannot be assigned to any of the known archosauriforms from the Lossiemouth Sandstone Formation, but it still represents the largest predator currently known for its fauna.

Saltopus elginensis, reported in 1910 from the yellow sandstones of the Lossiemouth Sandstone Formation (Late Triassic) of Morayshire, NE Scotland, has long been controversial. It was described first as a theropod dinosaur, but others disagreed. Reanalysis of the type, and only, specimen using casts from the natural rock moulds, as well as X-rays and CT scans, has revealed new anatomical data not available to previous researchers. Saltopus was a small, 800–1000 mm-long biped, whose tail made up more than half its length. It is an avemetatarsalian because it has elongated and tightly bunched metatarsals, the tibia is longer than the femur, the calcaneal tuber is rudimentary or absent, and metatarsal II is equal to or longer than metatarsal IV; a unique assemblage of characters diagnosing this clade. Saltopus is a dinosauromorph on the basis of the reduced fingers IV and V, the saddle-shaped dorsal margin of the iliac blade, and the articulation of sacral rib 1 close to the front of the iliac blade. Saltopus is a dinosauriform on the basis of the trochanteric shelf and lesser trochanter on the proximal end of the femur, the waisted sacral ribs, and perhaps the rod-like and straight pubis. However, it lacks all apomorphies of Dinosauria, retaining for example the primitive condition of two sacral vertebrae. Cladistic analyses place Saltopus within Dinosauromorpha and Dinosauriformes, and between the basal dinosauriform Pseudolagosuchus and the derived clade consisting of Silesauridae and Dinosauria, so making it one of a radiation of small pre-dinosaurian bipedal archosaurs in the Triassic found so far in North and South America and in Europe.