In Depth Although known only from partial skull remains and a single jaw bone, the Procuhy holotype fossils seems to have come from a smaller temnospondyl amphibian. Further Reading - New Permian fauna from tropical Gondwana. - Nature Communications 6(8676). - J. C. Cisneros, C. Marsicano, K. D. Angielczyk, R. M. H. Smith, M. Richter, … Read more
In Depth A possible close relative of the genus Cacops, Aspidosaurus is noted for having a single row of bony armour plates than ran down its spine. Aspidosaurus had fairly slender teeth that were the same size throughout the mouth. These were probably used to seize small animals such as fish, amphibians and possible early … Read more
In Depth Diadectes was discovered and named twice by both Othniel Charles Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope, the two central players of the ‘bone wars’. Marsh named it Nothodon while five days later Cope released the name Diadectes. Normally under these circumstances, Nothodon would have precedence but in a twist, when they were synonymized in … Read more
In Depth Named after a tributary of the River Styx from Ancient Greek mythology, Acherontiscus was a small lepospondyl that lived in the area that what would become Scotland back in the Carboniferous period. Acherontiscus is also the type genus of its own group, the Acherontiscidae. Acherontiscus is noted for having a long body but … Read more
In Depth Apachesaurus was a member of the Metoposauridae group of temnospondyl amphibians, though one that was particularly small. The larger close relatives of Apachesaurus include Metoposaurus and Koskinonodon which could grow up to two and a half to three meters long. Apachesaurus however grew only to around just over forty centimetres long. Due to … Read more
In Depth Pangerpeton is a species of small short bodied salamander that lived in China during the late Jurassic. Further Reading - A new short-bodied salamander from the Upper Jurassic/Lower Cretaceous of China. - Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 51(1):127-130. - Y. Wang & S. E. Evans - 2006.
In Depth An interesting specimen of an early amphibian as it appears to have completely abandoned terrestrial life in favour of an aquatic lifestyle. Its limbs, especially those at the front, were greatly reduced in size and would have been no use for land locomotion. They would have still served as rudders and may have … Read more
In Depth Westlothiana has caused some confusion among researchers as to whether it should be called reptile or amphibian. While it does have some reptilian features such as no otic notch and unfused ankle bones, the main skeletal structure has features that are reminiscent of the early terrestrial amphibians. This has led to the term … Read more
In Depth As a temnospondyl amphibian, Trematosaurus is the type genus of the Trematosauroidea. There used to be several species of Trematosaurus named, though currently only T. brauni and T. galae are recognised. This also means that Trematosaurus is currently only known from Germany and Russia, with the former South African species being re-assigned to … Read more
In Depth Microposaurus is a genus of stereospondyl amphibian that lived during the early Triassic. For a long time Microposaurus fossils were only known from South Africa, but in 2012 a description of Microposaurus fossils from Australia was published. This also saw the creation of a second Microposaurus species, M. averyi. Fossil remains from Jordan … Read more