The Cryptobranchoidea are a suborder of

salamanders Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All ten ...

found in Asia, European Russia, and the United States. They are known as primitive salamanders, in contrast to

Salamandroidea The Salamandroidea are a suborder of salamanders, referred to as advanced salamanders. The members of the suborder are found worldwide except for Antarctica, sub-Saharan Africa, and Oceania. They differ from suborder Cryptobranchoidea as the an ...

, the advanced salamanders. It has two living subdivisions,

Cryptobranchidae The Cryptobranchidae are a family of fully aquatic salamanders commonly known as the giant salamanders. They include the largest living amphibians. The family is native to China, Japan, and the eastern United States. They constitute one of two li ...

, which includes Asian giant salamanders and hellbenders, and

Hynobiidae The Asiatic salamanders (family Hynobiidae) are primitive salamanders found all over Asia, and in European Russia. They are closely related to the giant salamanders (family Cryptobranchidae), with which they form the suborder Cryptobranchoidea. ...

, commonly known as Asian salamanders. Some species of the fully aquatic family

are known as giant salamanders due to their large size. The oldest members of the group are known from the Middle Jurassic (

Bathonian In the geologic timescale the Bathonian is an age and stage of the Middle Jurassic. It lasted from approximately 168.3 Ma to around 166.1 Ma (million years ago). The Bathonian Age succeeds the Bajocian Age and precedes the Callovian Age. Str ...

) aged

Yanliao Biota The Yanliao Biota is the name given to an assembly of fossils preserved in northeastern China from the Middle to Late Jurassic.Xu, X., Zhou, Z., Sullivan, C. and Wang, Y., 2017. The Yanliao Biota: a trove of exceptionally preserved Middle-Late Jur ...

of China.

Taxonomy

This suborder contains only two families at present. All other members are extinct and are only known as fossils. *''

Chunerpeton ''Chunerpeton tianyiensis'' is an extinct species of salamander from the Late Jurassic Daohugou Beds in Ningcheng County, Nei Mongol (Inner Mongolia), China. It is the only species classified under the genus ''Chunerpeton''. It was a small anima ...

Haifanggou Formation The Haifanggou Formation (), also known as the Jiulongshan Formation (), is a fossil-bearing rock deposit located near Daohugou () village of Ningcheng County, in Inner Mongolia, northeastern China. The formation consists of coarse conglomerates ...

, China, Middle Jurassic (

) (

neotenic Neoteny (), also called juvenilization,Montagu, A. (1989). Growing Young. Bergin & Garvey: CT. is the delaying or slowing of the physiological, or somatic, development of an organism, typically an animal. Neoteny is found in modern humans compa ...

, has alternatively been recovered outside of Cryptobranchoidea) *''

Jeholotriton ''Jeholotriton'' is a genus of primitive salamander from the Daohugou Beds (possibly dating to the late Jurassic period) near Daohugou village of Inner Mongolia, China. Wang Yuan from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropo ...

'' Haifanggou Formation, China, Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) (neotenic) *''

Pangerpeton ''Pangerpeton'' is an extinct genus of salamanders. Its monotypic species is ''Pangerpeton sinensis''. ''Pangerpeton'' is a metamorphosed, primitive salamander from the Late Jurassic Daohugou fossil bed near Wubaiding Village of Lingyuan City, L ...

'' Haifanggou Formation, China, Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) *'' Nesovtriton''

Bissekty Formation The Bissekty Formation (sometimes referred to as Bissekt) is a geologic formation and Lagerstätte which crops out in the Kyzyl Kum desert of Uzbekistan, and dates to the Late Cretaceous Period. Laid down in the mid to late Turonian, it is dated ...

, Uzbekistan, Late Cretaceous (

Turonian The Turonian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the second age in the Late Cretaceous Epoch, or a stage in the Upper Cretaceous Series. It spans the time between 93.9 ± 0.8 Ma and 89.8 ± 1 Ma (million years ago). The Turonian is preceded b ...

) *''

Iridotriton ''Iridotriton'' is an extinct genus of prehistoric salamander known from a fossil found in stratigraphic zone 6 of the late Jurassic Morrison FormationFoster, J. (2007). "Appendix." ''Jurassic West: The Dinosaurs of the Morrison Formation and T ...

'' Morrison Formation, United States, Late Jurassic ( Tithonian) *'' Kiyatriton''

Itat Formation The Itat Formation ( Russian: итатская свита) is a geologic formation in western Siberia. It was deposited in the Bajocian to Bathonian ages of the Middle Jurassic. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from ...

, Russia, Middle Jurassic (Bathonian)

Ilek Formation The Ilek Formation is a Lower Cretaceous geologic formation in Western Siberia. Many different fossils have been recovered from the formation. It overlies the Late Jurassic Tyazhin Formation and underlies the Albian Kiya Formation. The formation ...

, Russia, Early Cretaceous (

Barremian The Barremian is an age in the geologic timescale (or a chronostratigraphic stage) between 129.4 ± 1.5 Ma (million years ago) and 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma). It is a subdivision of the Early Cretaceous Epoch (or Lower Cretaceous Series). It is precede ...

Aptian The Aptian is an age in the geologic timescale or a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is a subdivision of the Early or Lower Cretaceous Epoch or Series and encompasses the time from 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma to 113.0 ± 1.0 Ma (million years ago), a ...

) (Presumed to be a cryptobranchoid) *''

Laccotriton ''Laccotriton'' is an extinct genus of prehistoric salamanders which lived in Eastern Asia during the Late Jurassic. A nearly complete skeleton of ''L. subsolanus'' was found at Hebei, China. See also * List of prehistoric amphibians This lis ...

'' Fengshan fossil bed, China, Late Jurassic (Tithonian) *''

Sinerpeton ''Sinerpeton'' is an extinct genus of prehistoric amphibian. It was named by Gao and Shubin in 2001 See also * Prehistoric amphibian * List of prehistoric amphibians This list of prehistoric amphibians is an attempt to create a comprehensive l ...

'' Fengshan fossil bed, China, Late Jurassic (Tithonian) *

(Late Cretaceous-Recent) *Panhynobia ** ''

Liaoxitriton ''Liaoxitriton'' is an extinct genus of prehistoric cryptobranchoid salamanders from the Early Cretaceous of China. It contains one species, ''L. zhongjiani'', from the Aptian aged Yixian Formation. A second species, ''L. daohugouensis'' fro ...

'' Jiufotang Formation, China, Early Cretaceous (Aptian) ** '' Linglongtriton''

Tiaojishan Formation The Tiaojishan Formation is a geological formation in Hebei and Liaoning, People's Republic of China, dating to the middle-late Jurassic period (Bathonian- Oxfordian stages). It is known for its exceptionally preserved fossils, including those of ...

, China, Late Jurassic ( Oxfordian) ** '' Neimengtriton'' Haifanggou Formation, China, Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) ** '' Regalerpeton''

Dabeigou Formation The Dabeigou Formation is a paleontology, palaeontological formation located in Hebei, China.Hauterivian The Hauterivian is, in the geologic timescale, an age in the Early Cretaceous Epoch or a stage in the Lower Cretaceous Series. It spans the time between 132.9 ± 2 Ma and 129.4 ± 1.5 Ma (million years ago). The Hauterivian is preceded by the ...

) ** '' Nuominerpeton''

Longjiang Formation Longjiang is the atonal pinyin romanization of various Chinese names, particularly or , meaning "DragonRiver". The same name also sometimes occurs as Lung Chiang, Keang, or Kiang. It may refer to: Places Rivers * Long River (Guangxi) * Long Riv ...

, China, Early Cretaceous (Aptian) **

(

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

-Recent)

References

Salamanders Oxfordian first appearances Extant Late Jurassic first appearances Amphibian suborders Taxa named by Emmett Reid Dunn {{salamander-stub