In Depth The name Mastodonsaurus means ‘breast tooth lizard’, and this came about from the observation of G. F. Jaegar who was describing a broken tooth. Later, when other teeth of Mastodonsaurus were found they were found to be no different from the teeth of most other temnospondyls. The signature features of Mastodonsaurus are the … Read more
In Depth Palaeomolgophis is a genus of amphibian that lived in Scotland during the Carboniferous. Palaeomolgophis displays a severe reduction in the size of its limbs which has led to speculation that Palaeomolgophis might have been fully aquatic. Further Reading - Studies on Early Tetrapods I. The Lower Carboniferous Microsaurs. - Philosophical Transactions of the … Read more
In Depth Iberospondylus is a genus of temnospondyl amphibian that lived in the Iberian Peninsula of Spain during the late Carboniferous. Two interesting points about Iberospondylus are that the genus is one of the oldest known, and extends the range of such creatures living in Spain by forty-five million years. Additionally, fossils of Iberospondylus have … Read more
In Depth A relative of amphibians such as Platyhystrix and Cacops, Zygosaurus was a cacopine temnospondyl that lived in Russia during the Permian. Further Reading – Uber die Saurier des kupferfhrenden Zechsteins Russlands. – Bulletin de la Societe National Moscou (in Russian). 21: 136–204. – Eduard Eichwals – 1848.
In Depth Jeholotriton is a genus of salamander that lived in China towards the end of the mid-Jurassic. Further Reading - A new salamander (Amphibia: Caudata) from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota. - Vertebrata PalAsiatica 38:100-103. - Y. Wang - 2000.
In Depth Tambachia is a genus of temnospondyl amphibian that live in what is now Germany during the Permian period. Specifically, Tambachia is a trematopod temnospondyl, and is also recorded as the first of its kind to be found outside of the USA. Further Reading - A New Trematopid Amphibian from the Lower Permian of … Read more
In Depth Karaurus has been hailed as one of the earliest known true salamanders to appear. This is based upon the striking similarity of the Karaurus holotype to modern forms, and it is quite likely that Karaurus lived in a similar manner hunting for small invertebrates in the water. Further Reading - Urodelans from the … Read more
In Depth Tirraturhinus is a genus of trematosaurian temnospondyl amphibian that lived in what is now Australia during the earliest stage of the Triassic. Further Reading - A short-snouted trematosauroid (Tetrapoda, Temnospondyli) from the Early Triassic of Australia: the oldest known trematosaurine. - Alcheringa 30:263-271. - C. M. Nield, R. Damiani & A. Warren - … Read more
In Depth Qantas is a genus of temnspondyl amphibian from Russia. If the name sounds familiar then that might be because it was named in honour of the Australian airline Qantas which supplied funding for the study. Further Reading – New data on trematosauroid labyrinthodonts of Eastern Europe: 3. Qantas samarensis gen. Et sp. Nov”. … Read more
In Depth By the end of the Triassic, the temnospondyl amphibians had already been greatly reduced in number to what they were in the earlier Permian and Carboniferous. They were not all gone however, and some like Cyclotosaurus were without doubt flourishing. So far fossils of Cyclotosaurus have been found all the way from Greenland, … Read more