"Cartorhynchus" and "Sclerocormus" were united by their short snouts, elongated nasals, deep jaws, frontals lacking expansions, ribcages deepest near the shoulder, and scapulae (shoulder blades) wider at the bottom end than at the top end.Incorporating nasorostrans into phylogenetic analyses also provided evidence in support of the hupehsuchians as close relatives of the ichthyopterygians.