''Bothriceps'' is an extinct

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

stereospondyl 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 ecolog ...

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 Carb ...

. It is a member of the infraorder

Trematosauria Trematosauria is one of two major groups of temnospondyl amphibians that survived the Permian-Triassic extinction event, the other (according to Yates and Warren 2000) being the Capitosauria. The trematosaurs were a diverse and important group t ...

and is the most

basal Basal or basilar is a term meaning ''base'', ''bottom'', or ''minimum''. Science * Basal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location for features associated with the base of an organism or structure * Basal (medicine), a minimal level that is nec ...

brachyopomorph known. It is one of the only brachyopomorph that lies outside the superfamily Brachyopoidea, which includes the

families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Brachyopidae Brachyopidae is an extinct family of temnospondyl labyrintodonts. They evolved in the early Mesozoic and were mostly aquatic. A fragmentary find from Lesotho, Africa is estimated to have been long, the largest amphibian ever known to have live ...

and

Chigutisauridae Chigutisauridae is an extinct family of large temnospondyl amphibians. The only genera recognized as belonging to Chigutisauridae at the current time are all from Gondwana. Chigutisaurids first appeared during the Early Triassic in Australia. Du ...

. It shares several similarities to '' Keratobrachyops'', another basal brachyopomorph, and may be closely related to or even synonymous with it. The genus was named in 1859 by

Thomas Henry Huxley Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895) was an English biologist and anthropologist specialising in comparative anatomy. He has become known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The stor ...

with the description of its

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...

''B. australis'' from the

Early Triassic The Early Triassic is the first of three epochs of the Triassic Period of the geologic timescale. It spans the time between Ma and Ma (million years ago). Rocks from this epoch are collectively known as the Lower Triassic Series, which is a ...

Upper Parmeener Group of

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, Australia. It was originally assigned to the family Brachyopidae and was not reassigned to a more basal position until 2000, when the clade Brachyopomorpha was constructed to accommodate for it. The genus ''Bothriceps'' once included several species, but the only species assigned to it now is the type. ''Bothriceps major'', named in 1909, was reassigned to the family

Rhytidosteidae Rhytidosteidae is a family of Temnospondyli that lived in the Permian and Triassic. Phylogeny Below is a cladogram from Dias-da-Silva and Marsicano (2011): References *Yates, AM (2000), A new tiny rhytidosteid (Temnospondyli: Stereospon ...

as the type species the genus '' Trucheosaurus'' in 1998. The brachyopid '' Platycepsion wilkinsoni'' (then referred to as ''Platyceps wilkinsoni'') was reassigned to ''Bothriceps'' in 1890 and in 1969, but was placed back within the original genus in 1973.

References

Trematosaurs Induan life Triassic temnospondyls of Australia Paleontology in Queensland Fossil taxa described in 1859 Taxa named by Thomas Henry Huxley {{temnospondyli-stub