In Depth Koolasuchus is a good example of a late surviving temnospondyl. Most of the other members of this group had been long extinct by the time of the Aptian, but Koolasuchus had managed to hang on in the cooler climate of what would become Australia. However when the climate warmed, crocodiles that were becoming … Read more
In Depth Mesophryne is a genus of frog that lived in China during the early Cretaceous. Further Reading - Mesozoic anurans from Liaoning Province, China, and phylogenetic relationships of archaeobatrachian anuran clades. - Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 21 (3): 460–476. - Ke-Qin Gao & Yuan Wang - 2001.
In Depth The fact the remains of Hynerpeton were recovered from the US state of Pennsylvania makes Hynerpeton the first amphibian tetrapod known from the USA, and North America if you don’t count the other species recovered from Greenland. The discovery of Hynerpeton in the US has altered the perception of how Tetrapods colonised the … Read more
In Depth Prosalirus is one of the earliest frogs that has been confirmed as being able to jump, a revelation brought about from analysis of the skeleton which shows that it was capable of absorbing forces associated with landing. Further Reading - An Early Jurassic jumping frog. - Nature 377:49-52. - Neil H. Shubin & … Read more
In Depth The unusual boomerang shape of the head has been a source of interest ever since its discovery. The two main theories are that it either functioned as a hydrofoil allowing it to move in strong currents, or that it made it impossible for other predators to swallow. It may have course been a … Read more
In Depth Dvellecanus is a genus of lepospondyl amphibian that lived in North America during the Permian. Further Reading - Micro-CT Study of Rhynchonkos stovalli (Lepospondyli, Recumbirostra), with Description of Two New Genera. - PLoS ONE 10 (6). - M. Szostakiwskyj, J. D. Pardo & J. S. Anderson - 2015.
In Depth Anyone interested in the temnospondyl amphibians would do well to study the Sclerocephalus genus, as it is one of the few temnospondyl genera which actually gives us definitive clues about the lifestyles of these amphibians. There are many individuals of Sclerocephalus known, and between then various life stages are represented. When newly hatched, … Read more
In Depth Sauropleura was a small lepospondyl amphibian that had a long, narrow body and tail, with only relatively small limbs. As such Sauropleura was probably more at home in the water where it uses its limbs and thin body to navigate through submerged aquatic plants as it hunted for invertebrates, though it is not … Read more
In Depth Piceoerpeton was a genus of large prehistoric salamander that that lived in North America from the late Creaceous to the early Eocene. Further Reading A new cryptobranchid salamander from the Early Eocene of Wyoming. – Copeia 1967(2):346-349 – C. A. M. Meszoely – 1967. – Revision of Piceoerpeton Meszoely (Caudata: Scapherpetontidae) and description … Read more
In Depth Phonerpeton was a fairly small temnospondyl amphibian that lived in what is now Texas during the early Permian. As a temnospondyl, Phonerpeton would have been a predator of other small vertebrates such as fish and smaller amphibians, though larger invertebrates may have also been taken. Further Reading - A new trematopsid amphibian (Temnospondyli: … Read more