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 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 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 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 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
In Depth Koskinonodon was originally named as Buettneria back in 1922, however it was later realised that Buettneria had already been used to name a genus of katydid (bush cricket). In addition to this a species of Metoposaurus, M. bakeri was moved to create a new species of Koskinonodon, K. bakeri, in 1931. Additionally another … Read more
In Depth Acheloma was a relatively large for its time temnopondyl amphibian that would have hunted for other small animals around the water systems of what would eventually be the United States back in the early Permian. This could include swimming around in the water to venturing on land for extended periods. Further Reading - … Read more
In Depth Benthosuchus has been considered to be a member of the Trematosauroidea (type genus Trematosaurus), but in more recent time the genus has also been considered to be a member of the Mastodonsauroidea (type genus Mastodonsaurus). However the primitive nature of Benthosuchus makes a confident assignment difficult to establish. Benthosuchus seems to have been … Read more
In Depth Parapytanga is a genus of temnospondul amphibian that lived in South America during the late Permian. Although fossil remains are partial and fragmentary, Parapytanga may have grown to a meter or more in length, suggesting that Parapytanga would have been a predator of smaller creatures. Further Reading - On a New Stereospondylomorph Temnospondyl … Read more