Sauropleurinae is an extinct

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

lepospondyl Lepospondyli is a diverse taxon of early tetrapods. With the exception of one late-surviving lepospondyl from the Late Permian of Morocco (''Diplocaulus minumus''), lepospondyls lived from the Early Carboniferous ( Mississippian) to the Early Per ...

amphibians. Along with the subfamily

Urocordylinae Urocordylinae is an extinct subfamily of lepospondyl amphibians that includes several small newt-like species with short skulls and elongated, flattened tails. Urocordylinae belongs to the family Urocordylidae, which also includes the subfamily ...

, Sauropleurinae is part of the family

Urocordylidae The Urocordylidae are an extinct family (biology), family of nectridean lepospondyl amphibians. Urocordylids lived during the Late Carboniferous and Early Permian in what is now Europe and North America and are characterized by their very long, p ...

. Like other urocordylids, sauropleurines have long, flattened tails and superficially resemble aquatic

newt A newt is a salamander in the subfamily Pleurodelinae. The terrestrial juvenile phase is called an eft. Unlike other members of the family Salamandridae, newts are semiaquatic, alternating between aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Not all aqua ...

s. They differ from urocordylines in having narrow, pointed skulls. Sauropleurinae includes the genera ''

Sauropleura ''Sauropleura'' (meaning "lizard side") is an extinct genus of nectridean lepospondyls within the family (biology), family Urocordylidae. Fossils are known from the United States (Texas, Ohio) and Europe (Czech Republic). The following species ar ...

'', ''

Crossotelos ''Crossotelos'' is an extinct genus of nectridean lepospondyl within the family Urocordylidae. It contains a single species, '' Crossotelos annulatus''. ''Crossotelos'' lived in modern-day Oklahoma and Texas, United States during the Early to Lo ...

'', '' Lepterpeton'', and '' Montcellia'', all of which lived during the

Late Carboniferous Late may refer to: * LATE, an acronym which could stand for: ** Limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy, a proposed form of dementia ** Local-authority trading enterprise, a New Zealand business law ** Local average treatment effect, ...

in what is now North America and Europe.

References

Holospondyls Carboniferous amphibians Pennsylvanian first appearances Pennsylvanian extinctions {{Lepospondyli-stub