Type species: Bottosaurus harlani.

Diagnosis: Species of Bottosaurus are diagnosed by shared skull and mandibular character states. Lower jaws are nearly circular in cross-section. Teeth are tribodont, with apical striations of the enamel and mesiodistally oriented carinae. Anterior teeth are nearly circular in cross-section and have relatively low apices; mid-jaw and posterior teeth of the dentary are labiolingually compressed and bear apices that become progressively blunter along the posterior tooth row (Fig. 1). Jugals preserve a large jugal foramen (Fig. 2). A U-shaped depression is present on the frontal at the point of the greatest mediolateral constriction between the orbits (Fig. 3). The U-shaped depression of Bottosaurus differs from the U-shaped depression of caimanines, such as Melanosuchus or Caiman, in which the structure is anterior to the point of greatest mediolateral constriction between the orbits.