Trematosauria is one of two major groups of
temnospondyl
Temnospondyli (from Greek τέμνειν, ''temnein'' 'to cut' and σπόνδυλος, ''spondylos'' 'vertebra') is a diverse order of small to giant tetrapods—often considered primitive amphibians—that flourished worldwide during the Carbo ...
amphibians that survived the
Permian-Triassic extinction event, the other (according to Yates and Warren 2000) being the
Capitosauria
Capitosauria is an extinct group of large temnospondyl amphibians with simplified stereospondyl vertebrae. Mainly living as piscivores in lakes and rivers, the Capitosauria and its sister taxon Trematosauria were the only major labyrinthodonts ...
. The trematosaurs were a diverse and important group that included many medium-sized to large forms that were semi-aquatic to totally aquatic. The group included long-snouted forms such as the
trematosauroids and short, broad-headed forms such as the
metoposaurs.
[Brusatte, S. L., Butler R. J., Mateus O., & Steyer S. J. (2015). A new species of Metoposaurus from the Late Triassic of Portugal and comments on the systematics and biogeography of metoposaurid temnospondyls. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. e912988., 2015:] Although most groups did not survive beyond the
Triassic
The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago (Year#Abbreviations yr and ya, Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 ...
, one lineage, the
brachyopoids, continued until the
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...
period. Trematosauria is defined as all
stereospondyls
The Stereospondyli are a group of extinct temnospondyl amphibians that existed primarily during the Mesozoic period. They are known from all seven continents and were common components of many Triassic ecosystems, likely filling a similar ecologi ...
more closely related to ''
Trematosaurus'' than to ''
Parotosuchus'', a capitosaurian.
Classification
Phylogeny
Cladogram
A cladogram (from Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an evolutionary tree because it does not show how ancestors are related to ...
after Yates and Warren (2000):
References
External links
Temnospondyli: Trematosauriaat
Palaeos Palaeos.com is a web site on biology, paleontology, phylogeny and geology and which covers the history of Earth. The site is well respected and has been used as a reference by professional paleontologists such as Michael J. Benton, the professor of ...
Trematosaurs
Triassic temnospondyls
Jurassic temnospondyls
Cretaceous temnospondyls
Early Triassic first appearances
Cretaceous extinctions
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