In Depth Rileymillerus is a little known genus of temnospondyl amphibian that lived in Texas during the late Triassic. Further Reading - A new temnospondyl amphibian from the Late Triassic of Texas. - Journal of Paleontology 74(4):670-683. - J. R. Bolt & S. Chatterjee - 2000.
In Depth Chunerpeton was a key discovery as it represents the first appearance of a crown salamander in the fossil record. Unfortunately there has been a lot of debate and uncertainty about the true age of the fossil deposits that Chunerpeton comes from. Soft tissue impressions reveal that even in adult life Chunerpeton retained external … Read more
In Depth Limnoscelis is a genus of diadectomorph that lived in North America during the early Permian period. Diadectomorphs (there name taken from the genus Diadectes) are often identified as being herbivorous, though Limnoscelis seems to be an exception to this with the dentition and body form of a primitive predator. Limnoscelis however was not … Read more
In Depth Pelorocephalus lived towards the end of the Triassic, a time just before the temnospondyl amphibians declined to be only a small portion of their former selves. Pelorocephalus was typical of the temnospondyl body type, resembling a large heavily built salamander-like creature that in the instance of Pelorocephalus grew to around one meter long, … Read more
In Depth Eryops is one of the better represented predators of the early Permian era, and is likely to have been near to the top of the food chain. It had a particularly stocky build which was supported by a particularly strong spine so that it would not suffocate under its own bulk. Respiration was … Read more
In Depth Despite its name, Cochleosaurus was actually an amphibian. The skull is quite flat and features an ear structure better adapted for use on the land. Some have considered Cochleosaurus to have been an ambush hunter similar to crocodiles today. Further Reading – The edopoid amphibian Cochleosaurus from the middle Pennsylvanian of Nova Scotia. … Read more
In Depth The body of Gerrothorax is flattened to the extreme and is one of the morphological features that indicate Gerrothorax lived at the bottom of aquatic habitats such as lakes and rivers. The eyes of Gerrothorax are placed on top of the head in an orientation that really would only provide upwards vision. Rather … Read more
In Depth Palaeoherpeton was originally named as Palaeogyrinus in 1926, but was renamed as Palaeoherpeton in 1970. Palaeoherpeton was a medium sized predator that would have hunted in the Carboniferous coal swamps of Scotland. Further Reading - Croonian lecture.—The evolution and origin of the Amphibia. - Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B … Read more
In Depth While not the last of the large carnivorous amphibians, Rhinesuchus existed at a time when the majority of the other species became extinct during the Permian-triassic extinction event. After this time the reptiles would become the dominant life forms until the KT extinction. The skull on Rhinesuchus had a flat triangular shape with … Read more
In Depth For the Carboniferous period Eogyrinus was a particularly large predator that had an almost eel-like body that measured out over four meters in length. This body, which featured limbs severely reduced in physical size, was an adaptation to swimming and hunting in Carboniferous swamps which would have been clogged with dense weeds, submerged … Read more