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Capitosaurs
Capitosauria is an extinct group of large temnospondyl amphibians with simplified stereospondyl vertebrae. Mainly living as piscivores in lakes and rivers, the Capitosauria and its sister taxon Trematosauria were the only major labyrinthodonts that existed during the Mesozoic in ecological niches broadly similar to those of modern crocodiles, and some grew to very large sizes. At 6 meters in length, the Mid-Triassic '' Mastodonsaurus giganteus'' is not only thought to have been the largest capitosaur, but possibly also the largest amphibian to have lived. The latest known remains are from the Rhaetian of Germany and are referred to ''Cyclotosaurus''. Capitosauria was first named by Schoch and Milner (2000) and further described by Yates and Warren (2000), who assigned '' Lydekkerina'' and Mastodonsauroidea to it. It was described by Damiani (2001) under the name Mastodonsauroidea. In their phylogenetic analysis of temnospondyls, Ruta ''et al.'' (2007) placed ''Lydekkerina'' and i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wetlugasaurus Angustifrons
''Wetlugasaurus'' (meaning "Vetluga River lizard") is an extinct genus of Temnospondyli, temnospondyl amphibian from the Early Triassic (Olenekian) Charkabozh Formation, Charkabozh, Kzylsaiskaya Formation, Kzylsaiskaya, Petropavlovka Formation, Petropavlovka, Kamennyi Yar Formation, Kamennyi Yar and Vetluga Series Formations of northern Russia and Greenland. It had a long skull, and reached a total length of . References Further reading * ''The Age of Dinosaurs in Russia and Mongolia'' by Michael J. Benton, Mikhail A. Shishkin, David M. Unwin, and Evgenii N. Kurochkin. p. 35-59. * ''Bibliography Of Fossil Vertebrates 1934-1938'' by C. I. Camp Capitosaurs Prehistoric amphibian genera Triassic temnospondyls of Europe Olenekian life Fossils of Russia Fossil taxa described in 1930 {{triassic-animal-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mastodonsaurus
''Mastodonsaurus'' (meaning "teat tooth lizard") is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibian from the Middle Triassic of Europe. It belongs to a Triassic group of temnospondyls called Capitosauria, characterized by their large body size and presumably aquatic lifestyles. ''Mastodonsaurus'' remains one of the largest amphibians known, and may have exceeded 6 meters (20 feet) in length. Description Like those of many other capitosaurs, the head of ''Mastodonsaurus'' was triangular, reaching about in the largest specimens. Narrow grooves on the surface of the skull bones called sulci show it had sensory organs that could detect vibrations and pressure under water, similar to the lateral lines on fish. The large, oval eye sockets are midway along the skull with the nostrils near the tip of the snout. Small ear holes (otic notches) are indented on either side of the back of the skull. The upper surface of the skull bones of ''Mastodonsaurus'' bore an intricate pattern of pits and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Temnospondyl
Temnospondyli (from Greek τέμνειν, ''temnein'' 'to cut' and σπόνδυλος, ''spondylos'' 'vertebra') is a diverse order of small to giant tetrapods—often considered primitive amphibians—that flourished worldwide during the Carboniferous, Permian, and Triassic periods. A few species continued into the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Fossils have been found on every continent. During about 210 million years of evolutionary history, they adapted to a wide range of habitats, including freshwater, terrestrial, and even coastal marine environments. Their life history is well understood, with fossils known from the larval stage, metamorphosis, and maturity. Most temnospondyls were semiaquatic, although some were almost fully terrestrial, returning to the water only to breed. These temnospondyls were some of the first vertebrates fully adapted to life on land. Although temnospondyls are considered amphibians, many had characteristics, such as scales and armour-like bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Watsonisuchus
''Watsonisuchus'' is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibian from the Early Triassic of Australia, Madagascar, and South Africa. It was up to 122 cm long and had a robust skull The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, t ... of 24 cm in length.http://www.angellis.net/Web/PDfiles/amphs.pdf References * ''Dragons in the Dust: The Paleobiology of the Giant Monitor Lizard Megalania'' by Ralph E. Molnar (Pg. 39) Triassic temnospondyls of Africa Prehistoric amphibians of Australia Capitosaurs Triassic temnospondyls of Australia Early Triassic amphibians of Africa Fossil taxa described in 1966 Prehistoric amphibian genera {{Triassic-animal-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mastodonsauroidea
The Mastodonsauroidea are an extinct superfamily of temnospondyl amphibians known from the Triassic. Fossils belonging to this superfamily have been found in North America, Greenland, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The genus ''Ferganobatrachus'' from the Jurassic of Asia was initially included in this superfamily but later reinterpreted as a brachyopid Brachyopidae is an extinct family of temnospondyl labyrintodonts. They evolved in the early Mesozoic and were mostly aquatic. A fragmentary find from Lesotho, Africa is estimated to have been long, the largest amphibian ever known to have lived ... and given a new name Gobiops. ReferencesThe Paleobiology Database*& 2007 "Revision of the type material and nomenclature of ''Mastodonsaurus giganteus'' (Jaeger) (Temnospondyli) from the middle Triassic of Germany" ''Palaeontology'' 505:1245-1266 External links Vertebrate superfamilies Triassic temnospondyls Jurassic temnospondyls Early Triassic first appearances Midd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edingerella
''Edingerella'' is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibian from the Early Triassic of Madagascar. It is a basal capitosaur closely related to ''Watsonisuchus ''Watsonisuchus'' is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibian from the Early Triassic of Australia, Madagascar, and South Africa. It was up to 122 cm long and had a robust skull The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. Th ...''. Phylogeny Below is a cladogram from Fortuny ''et al.'' (2011): References Triassic temnospondyls of Africa Prehistoric animals of Madagascar Capitosaurs Early Triassic amphibians of Africa Prehistoric amphibian genera {{triassic-animal-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uranocentrodon Senekalensis
''Uranocentrodon'' is an extinct genus of the family Rhinesuchidae. Known from a skull, ''Uranocentrodon'' was a large predator with a length up to . Originally named ''Myriodon'' by van Hoepen in 1911, it was transferred to a new genus on account of the name being preoccupied in 1917. It has been synonymized with '' Rhinesuchus'', but this has not been widely supported. It was also originally considered to be of Triassic age, but more recent analysis has placed its age as just below the Permian-Triassic boundary. History and specimens Fossils of the animal now known as ''Uranocentrodon'' were first discovered in a sandstone quarry in the Normandien Formation near Senekal in Free State, South Africa. The first example of these fossils was a fragmentary skull excavated by a local family. Subsequent excavations and searches undertaken by various parties unearthed more specimens which hailed from the quarry. Among these specimens included three nearly complete skeletons overl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhineceps Nyasaensis
''Rhineceps'' is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibian in the family Rhinesuchidae. ''Rhineceps'' was found in Northern Malawi (formerly Nyasaland) in Southern Africa known only from its type species ''R. nyasaensis''. ''Rhineceps'' was a late Permian (256-258 Mya) semi-aquatic carnivore that lived in streams, rivers, lakes or lagoons. ''Rhineceps'' is an early divergent Stereopondyl within the family Rhinesuchidae, which only existed in the late Permian (Lopingian) and failed to survive the Permian-Triassic extinction unlike other stereospondyl families. History ''Rhineceps'' was originally discovered in the “Upper Bone Beds” of the Chiweta Beds, North Waller Area in Northern Malawi. The fossil was first described and named by Haughton in 1926, whereby he describes the fossil of a left mandibular ramus of ''R. nyasaensis'' as within the genus ''Rhinesuchus'' due to its similarity with the fossils of ''Rhinesuchus whaitsi.'' Watson later determined in a letter to Par ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Odenwaldia Heidelbergensis
''Odenwaldia'' is an extinct genus of mastodonsauroid temnospondyl within the family Heylerosauridae. History of study ''Odenwaldia'' is only known from one species, ''O. heidelbergensis'', and was named by Morales & Kamphausen (1984). The holotype, a skull roof and counterpiece cast, were collected from the Middle Bundsandstein (Oberes Konglomerat) near Heidelberg, Germany and were first described by Wilhelm Simon in 1961, who thought that the specimen belonged to the trematosaur ''Trematosaurus''. It was then redescribed by Schoch (2008). Description The holotype is the only uncontroversial specimen of this taxon, although others have been referred to the species. ''Odenwaldia'' is diagnosed by several autapomorphies, including (1) small orbits combined with broad interorbital distance; (2) preorbital region slender, with nasals and lacrimals narrower than frontals; and (3) dermal ornament consists of small, similarly sized polygons, but no elongated ridges. In contrast ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cyclotosaurus
''Cyclotosaurus'' is an extinct genus of temnospondyl within the family Mastodonsauridae. It was of great size for an amphibian, had an elongated skull up to . Etymology The name means "round eared lizard" in Ancient Greek, derived from round openings or fenestrae in the cheeks, which are thought to contain structures of the middle ear. History German naturalist Eberhard Fraas erected the genus ''Cyclotosaurus'' in 1889, with ''C. robustus'' (previously ''Mastodonsaurus robustus'') as the type species. Several species are known, mainly from Germany and Poland in Central Europe, as well as East Greenland and Thailand. The relationships between species is unclear. ''"Labyrinthodon" pachygnathus'' Owen, 1842 and ''"L." leptognathus'' Owen, 1842 were transferred to ''Cyclotosaurus'', as ''C. pachygnathus'' and ''C. leptognathus'', by Paton (1974). However, Damiani (2001) assigned the two species to Mastodonsauroidea indeterminate and Stereospondyli indeterminate. Palaeont ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhinesuchidae
Rhinesuchidae is a family of tetrapods that lived primarily in the Permian period. They belonged to the broad group Temnospondyli, a successful and diverse collection of semiaquatic tetrapods which modern amphibians are probably descended from. Rhinesuchids can be differentiated from other temnospondyls by details of their skulls, most notably the interior structure of their otic notches at the back of the skull. They were among the earliest-diverging members of the Stereospondyli, a subgroup of temnospondyls with flat heads and aquatic habits. Although more advanced stereospondyls evolved to reach worldwide distribution in the Triassic period, rhinesuchids primarily lived in the high-latitude environments of Gondwana (what is now South America and Africa) during the Guadalupian and Lopingian epochs of the Permian. The taxonomy of this family has been convoluted, with more than twenty species having been named in the past; a 2017 review recognized only eight of them (distributed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lydekkerina Huxleyi
''Lydekkerina'' is an extinct genus of stereospondyl temnospondyl. It is the type genus of the family Lydekkerinidae. Fossils have been collected from Early Triassic deposits in South Africa and Australia. The type species is ''L. huxleyi'', first described in 1889. While most other stereospondyls were semiaquatic, ''Lydekkerina'' was exclusively terrestrial. Description ''Lydekkerina'' was a relatively small temnospondyl, growing up to around in length. Skulls range in length from in the smallest known individual to up to in larger individuals. The skull is wedge-shaped and has a parabolic outline with convex lateral margins. Shallow pits cover the surface of the skull. Teeth line the palate as well as the jaws, and some skulls even bear large ectopterygoid tusks on the underside of the skull. ''Lydekkerina'' can be distinguished from other lydekkerinids on the basis of several skull characteristics. One such feature is the presence of vomerine shagreen, tiny bumps coveri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
