Limnoscelidae is a

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

of carnivorous diadectomorphs. They would have been the largest terrestrial carnivores of their day, the other large carnivores being aquatic or semi aquatic labyrinthodont amphibians. The Limnoscelidae themselves, being close to the ancestry of

amniote Amniotes are tetrapod vertebrate animals belonging to the clade Amniota, a large group that comprises the vast majority of living terrestrial animal, terrestrial and semiaquatic vertebrates. Amniotes evolution, evolved from amphibious Stem tet ...

s, would have been well adapted land animals, but still dependent on

anamniote The anamniotes are an paraphyly, informal group of craniates comprising all fish and amphibians, which lay their eggs in aquatic environments. They are distinguished from the amniotes (reptiles, birds and mammals), which can reproduce on dry land ...

eggs, and possibly having a tadpole stage. Carroll R.L. (1991): The origin of reptiles. In: Schultze H.-P., Trueb L., (ed) ''Origins of the higher groups of tetrapods — controversy and consensus''. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, pp 331-353. Contrary to the more advanced herbivorous diadectids, the teeth retained labyrinthodont infolding of the enamel, and were pointed and slightly recurved at the tip.

Taxonomy

Two species assigned to the only genus of the family. * '' Limnoscelis'' (two species) is the nominal genus for which the family was erected. Both species were quite large animals, capable of reaching 1.5 meters as adults.

Former Members

* '' Limnostygis'' (one species) was once considered to be a member of the Limnoscelidae by

Robert L. Carroll Robert "Bob" Lynn Carroll (May 5, 1938 – April 7, 2020) was an American–Canadian vertebrate paleontologist who specialised in Paleozoic and Mesozoic amphibians and reptiles. Biography Carroll was an only child and grew up on a farm nea ...

, but as of a recent study it is no longer considered to be a member based on a lack of data. It is known from a single partial skeleton. It was markedly smaller than ''Limnoscelis'', about 40 cm in adult length.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6549812 Diadectomorpha Prehistoric tetrapod families Pennsylvanian first appearances Cisuralian extinctions