Permian tetrapods were amphibians and reptiles that lived during the

Permian Period The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years, from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.902 Mya. It is the s ...

. During this time,

amphibian Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all Tetrapod, tetrapods, but excl ...

s remained common, including various

Temnospondyli Temnospondyli (from Greek τέμνειν, ''temnein'' 'to cut' and σπόνδυλος, ''spondylos'' 'vertebra') or temnospondyls is a diverse ancient order of small to giant tetrapods—often considered primitive amphibians—that flourished ...

and

Lepospondyli Lepospondyli is a diverse clade of early tetrapods. With the exception of one late-surviving lepospondyl from the Late Permian of Morocco ('' Diplocaulus minimus''), lepospondyls lived from the Visean stage of the Early Carboniferous to the Ea ...

Synapsid Synapsida is a diverse group of tetrapod vertebrates that includes all mammals and their extinct relatives. It is one of the two major clades of the group Amniota, the other being the more diverse group Sauropsida (which includes all extant rept ...

s became the dominant type of animal, represented by the

Pelycosaur Pelycosaur ( ) is an older term for basal or primitive Late Paleozoic synapsids, excluding the therapsids and their descendants. Previously, the term mammal-like reptile was used, and Pelycosauria was considered an order, but this is now thoug ...

s during the

Early Permian 01 or 01 may refer to: * The year 2001, or any year ending with 01 * The month of January * 1 (number) Music * '01 (Richard Müller album), ''01'' (Richard Müller album), 2001 * 01 (Urban Zakapa album), ''01'' (Urban Zakapa album), 2011 * ''01011 ...

and Therapsids during the

Middle Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek ...

and

Late Late or LATE may refer to: Everyday usage * Tardy, or late, not being on time * Late (or the late) may refer to a person who is dead Music * ''Late'' (The 77s album), 2000 * Late (Alvin Batiste album), 1993 * Late!, a pseudonym used by Dave Groh ...

Permian, and distinguished by the appearance and possession of mammal-like characteristics (hence the old term "mammal-like reptiles"). These were accompanied by

Anapsid An anapsid is an amniote whose skull lacks one or more skull openings (fenestra, or fossae) near the temples. Traditionally, the Anapsida are considered the most primitive subclass of amniotes, the ancestral stock from which Synapsida and Dia ...

s or

Parareptile Parareptilia ("near-reptiles") is an extinct group of Basal (phylogenetics), basal Sauropsida, sauropsids ("Reptile, reptiles"), traditionally considered the sister taxon to Eureptilia (the group that likely contains all living reptiles and birds ...

s, which included both lizard-like and large herbivorous forms, and primitive

diapsid Diapsids ("two arches") are a clade of sauropsids, distinguished from more primitive eureptiles by the presence of two holes, known as temporal fenestrae, in each side of their skulls. The earliest traditionally identified diapsids, the araeosc ...

Classification

The following list of families of Permian tetrapods is based mostly on Benton ed. 1993. The classification follow
Benton 2004
Superclass

Tetrapod A tetrapod (; from Ancient Greek :wiktionary:τετρα-#Ancient Greek, τετρα- ''(tetra-)'' 'four' and :wiktionary:πούς#Ancient Greek, πούς ''(poús)'' 'foot') is any four-Limb (anatomy), limbed vertebrate animal of the clade Tetr ...

a * Class

Amphibia Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniotic, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all tetrapods, but excluding the amniotes (tetrapods with an amniotic ...

:::* Order

:::::* Family Edopidae :::::* Family Cochleosauridae :::::* Family Trimerorhachidae :::::* Family Dvinosauridae :::::* Family Saurerpetontidae :::::* Family Brachyopidae :::::* Family

Actinodontidae Actinodontidae is an extinct family of temnospondyls Temnospondyli (from Greek τέμνειν, ''temnein'' 'to cut' and σπόνδυλος, ''spondylos'' 'vertebra') or temnospondyls is a diverse ancient order of small to giant tetrapods—of ...

:::::* Family

Intasuchidae ''Intasuchus'' is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibian from the Middle Permian of Russia. It is known from a single species, ''Intasuchus silvicola'', which was named in 1956. ''Intasuchus'' belongs to the family Intasuchidae and is probabl ...

:::::* Family

Archegosauridae Archegosauridae is a family of relatively large and long snouted temnospondyls that lived in the Permian period. They were fully aquatic animals, and were metabolically and physiologically more similar to fish than modern amphibians.Florian Witzm ...

:::::* Family Rhinesuchidae :::::* Family Uranocentrodontidae :::::* Family Zatrachydidae :::::* Family

Eryopidae Eryopidae were a group of medium to large amphibious temnospondyli, temnospondyls, known from North America and Europe. They are defined as all Eryopoidea, eryopoids with interpterygoid vacuities (spaces in the interpterygoid bone) that are roun ...

:::::* Family Parioxyidae :::::* Family Peltobatrachidae :::::* Family

Trematopidae Trematopidae is a family of dissorophoid temnospondyls spanning the late Carboniferous to the early Permian. Together with Dissorophidae, the family forms Olsoniformes, a clade comprising the medium-large terrestrial dissorophoids. Trematopids a ...

:::::* Family

Dissorophidae Dissorophidae is an extinct family of medium-sized temnospondyls that flourished during the late Carboniferous and early Permian periods. The clade is known almost exclusively from North America. History of study Dissorophidae is a diverse cla ...

:::::* Family

Micromelerpetontidae Micromelerpetontidae (also spelled Micromelerpetidae) is an extinct family of dissorophoid temnospondyls that lived from the Late Carboniferous to the Early Permian in what is now Europe, with one Carboniferous species also known from North Afric ...

:::::* Family

Branchiosauridae Branchiosauridae is an extinct family of small amphibamiform temnospondyls with external gills and an overall juvenile appearance. The family has been characterized by hundreds of well-preserved specimens from the Permo-Carboniferous of Middle ...

:::::* Family

Amphibamidae The Amphibamidae are an ancient family of dissorophoid temnospondyls known from Late Carboniferous-Early Permian strata in the United States. Classification Amphibamidae has traditionally included small-bodied, terrestrial dissorophoids. The ...

::* Superorder

:::* Order

Aïstopoda Aistopoda (Greek for " avingnot-visible feet") is an order of highly specialised snake-like stegocephalians known from the Carboniferous and Cisuralian, Early Permian of Europe and North America, ranging from tiny forms only , to nearly in le ...

:::::* Family Phlegethontiidae :::* Order

Nectridea Nectridea is an extinct order of lepospondyl tetrapods from the Carboniferous and Permian periods, including animals such as '' Diplocaulus''. In appearance, they would have resembled modern newts or aquatic salamanders, although they are not cl ...

:::::* Family Diplocaulidae :::::* Family Scincosauridae :::::* Family Urocordylidae :::* Order Lysorophia :::::* Family Lysorophidae :::* Order

Microsauria Microsauria is an Extinction, extinct, possibly polyphyletic Order (biology), order of tetrapods from the late Carboniferous and early Permian periods. It is the most diverse and species-rich group of lepospondyls. Recently, Microsauria has been ...

:::::* Family Microbrachidae :::::* Family Brachyslechidae :::::* Family

Tuditanidae Tuditanidae is an extinct family (biology), family of microsaurian tetrapods. Fossils have been found from Nova Scotia, Ohio, and the Czech Republic and are Late Carboniferous in age. Tuditanids were medium-sized terrestrial microsaurs that rese ...

:::::* Family Hapsidopareiontidae :::::* Family Pantylidae :::::* Family Gymnarthridae :::::* Family Ostodolepididae :::::* Family Rhynchonkidae :::::* Family Cocytinidae ::* Superorder

Reptiliomorpha Reptiliomorpha (meaning reptile-shaped; in PhyloCode known as ''Pan-Amniota'') is a clade containing the amniotes and those tetrapods that share a more recent common ancestor with amniotes than with living amphibians (lissamphibians). It was defi ...

:::* Order

Anthracosauria Anthracosauria is a paraphyletic order of extinct reptile-like amphibians (in the broad sense) that flourished during the Carboniferous and early Permian periods, although precisely which species are included depends on one's definition of the t ...

:::::* Family Eogyrinidae :::::* Family Archeriidae :::::* Family Chroniosuchidae :::::* Family Bystrowianidae :::* Order

Seymouriamorpha Seymouriamorpha were a small but widespread group of limbed vertebrates (tetrapods). They have long been considered stem group, stem-amniotes (reptiliomorphs), and most paleontologists still accept this point of view, but some analyses suggest th ...

:::::* Family Seymouriidae :::::* Family

Discosauriscidae Seymouriamorpha were a small but widespread group of limbed vertebrates (tetrapods). They have long been considered stem group, stem-amniotes (reptiliomorphs), and most paleontologists still accept this point of view, but some analyses suggest th ...

:::::* Family Kotlassiidae :::: Orders/Suborders Uncertain :::::* Family Leptorophidae :::::* Family Enosuchidae :::::* Family Nycleroleridae :::::* Family Tokosauridae :::::* Family Lanthanosuchidae :::::* Family Tseajiidae :::* Order

Diadectomorpha Diadectomorpha is a clade of large tetrapods that lived in Euramerica during the Carboniferous and Early Permian periods and in Asia during Late Permian (Wuchiapingian), They have typically been classified as advanced reptiliomorphs (transitiona ...

:::::* Family Limnoscelididae :::::* Family

Diadectidae Diadectidae is an extinct family of early tetrapods that lived in what is now North America and Europe during the Late Carboniferous and Early Permian, and in Asia during the Late Permian. They were the first herbivorous tetrapods, and also the f ...

Series

Amniota Amniotes are tetrapod vertebrate animals belonging to the clade Amniota, a large group that comprises the vast majority of living terrestrial and semiaquatic vertebrates. Amniotes evolved from amphibious stem tetrapod ancestors during the C ...

* Class

Sauropsida Sauropsida (Greek language, Greek for "lizard faces") is a clade of amniotes, broadly equivalent to the Class (biology), class Reptile, Reptilia, though typically used in a broader sense to also include extinct stem-group relatives of modern repti ...

:* Subclass

Anapsida An anapsid is an amniote whose skull lacks one or more skull openings (fenestra, or fossae) near the temples. Traditionally, the Anapsida are considered the most primitive subclass of amniotes, the ancestral stock from which Synapsida and Diaps ...

:::::* Family

Acleistorhinidae Acleistorhinidae is an extinct family of Late Carboniferous and Early Permian-aged ( Moscovian to Kungurian stage) parareptiles. It is defined as a node based clade including the last common ancestor of '' Acleistorhinus pteroticus'' and '' Co ...

:::::* Family Eunotosauridae :::::* Family Mesosauridae :::::* Family

Millerettidae Millerettidae is an extinct family of parareptiles from the Middle Permian to the Late Permian period ( Capitanian - Changhsingian stages) of South Africa. The millerettids were small insectivores and probably resembled modern lizards in appea ...

:::::* Family Nyctiphruretidae :::::* Family

Procolophonidae Procolophonidae is an extinct family (biology), family of small, lizard-like parareptiles known from the Late Permian to Late Triassic that were distributed across Pangaea, having been reported from Europe, North America, China, South Africa, Sou ...

:::::* Family

Pareiasauridae Pareiasaurs (meaning "cheek lizards") are an extinct clade of large, herbivorous parareptiles. Members of the group were armoured with osteoderms which covered large areas of the body. They first appeared in southern Pangea during the Middle Per ...

:* Basal

Eureptilia Sauropsida (Greek for "lizard faces") is a clade of amniotes, broadly equivalent to the class Reptilia, though typically used in a broader sense to also include extinct stem-group relatives of modern reptiles and birds (which, as theropod dinos ...

:::::* Family

Captorhinidae Captorhinidae is an extinct family of tetrapods, traditionally considered primitive Reptile, reptiles, known from the late Carboniferous to the Late Permian. They had a cosmopolitan distribution across Pangea. Description Captorhinids are a cl ...

:::::* Family

Protorothyrididae Protorothyrididae is an extinct family (biology), family of small, lizard-like reptiles belonging to Eureptilia. Their skulls did not have Fenestra (anatomy), fenestrae, like the more derived diapsids. Protorothyridids lived from the Late Carbon ...

:* Subclass

Diapsida Diapsids ("two arches") are a clade of sauropsids, distinguished from more primitive eureptiles by the presence of two holes, known as temporal fenestrae, in each side of their skulls. The earliest traditionally identified diapsids, the araeosc ...

:::* Order

Araeoscelidia Araeoscelidia or Araeoscelida is a clade of extinct tetrapods (traditionally classified as diapsid reptiles) superficially resembling lizards, extending from the Late Carboniferous to the Early Permian. The group contains the genera '' Araeosceli ...

:::::* Family Araeoscelididae :::: Orders unspecified :::::* Family

Weigeltisauridae Weigeltisauridae is a family of gliding neodiapsid reptiles that lived during the Late Permian, between 259.51 and 251.9 million years ago. Fossils of weigeltisaurids have been found in Madagascar, Germany, Great Britain, and Russia. They are cha ...

:::::* Family Claudiosauridae :::::* Family Heleosauridae :::* Order Younginiformes :::::* Family Acerosodontosaurus :::::* Family Younginidae :::::* Family Tangasauridae :::::* Family Galesphyridae ::* Infraclass Lepidosauromorpha :::::* Family Paliguanidae ::* Infraclass

Archosauromorpha Archosauromorpha ( Greek for "ruling lizard forms") is a clade of diapsid reptiles containing all reptiles more closely related to archosaurs (such as crocodilians and dinosaurs, including birds) than to lepidosaurs (such as tuataras, lizards, ...

:::* Order Prolacertiformes :::::* Family Protorosauridae :::* Division

Archosaur Archosauria () or archosaurs () is a clade of diapsid sauropsid tetrapods, with birds and crocodilians being the only extant taxon, extant representatives. Although broadly classified as reptiles, which traditionally exclude birds, the cladistics ...

ia * Class

Synapsida Synapsida is a diverse group of tetrapod vertebrates that includes all mammals and their extinct relatives. It is one of the two major clades of the group Amniota, the other being the more diverse group Sauropsida (which includes all extant rep ...

:::* Order

ia :::::* Family

Eothyrididae Eothyrididae is an extinct family of very primitive, insectivorous synapsids. Only three genera are known, '' Eothyris'', '' Vaughnictis'' and '' Oedaleops'', all from the early Permian of North America. Their main distinguishing feature is the l ...

:::::* Family

Caseidae Caseidae are an Extinction, extinct Family (biology), family of Basal (phylogenetics), basal synapsids that lived from the Late Carboniferous to Middle Permian between about 300 and 265 million years ago. Fossils of these animals come from the so ...

:::::* Family

Varanopidae Varanopidae is an extinct family (biology), family of amniotes known from the Late Carboniferous to Middle Permian that resembled monitor lizards (with the name of the group deriving from the monitor lizard genus ''Varanus'') and may have filled ...

:::::* Family

Ophiacodontidae Ophiacodontidae is an extinct family of early synapsids from the Carboniferous and Permian. '' Archaeothyris'', and '' Clepsydrops'' were among the earliest ophiacodontids, appearing in the Late Carboniferous. Ophiacodontids are among the most b ...

:::::* Family

Edaphosauridae Edaphosauridae is a family of mostly large (up to or more) Late Carboniferous to Early Permian synapsids. Edaphosaur fossils are so far known only from North America and Europe. Characteristics They were the earliest known herbivorous amniotes ...

:::::* Family

Sphenacodontidae Sphenacodontidae (Greek: "wedge point tooth family") is an extinct family (biology), family of sphenacodontoidea, sphenacodontoid synapsids. Small to large, advanced, carnivore, carnivorous, Late Pennsylvanian to Guadalupian, middle Permian "pelyc ...

:::* Order Therapsida :::::* ''

Tetraceratops ''Tetraceratops insignis'' ("four-horned face emblem") is an extinct synapsid from the Early Permian that was formerly considered the earliest known representative of Therapsida, a group that includes mammals and their close extinct relatives. It ...

'' ::::* Suborder

Biarmosuchia Biarmosuchia is an extinct clade of non-mammalian synapsids from the Permian. Biarmosuchians are the most basal group of the therapsids. They were moderately-sized, lightly built carnivores, intermediate in form between basal sphenacodont " pel ...

:::::* Family Phthinosuchidae :::::* Family Biarmosuchidae :::::* Family Ictidorhinidae :::::* Family Burnetiidae :::::* Family

Eotitanosuchidae Eotitanosuchidae is an extinct family of biarmosuchian therapsids. The Eotitanosuchidae were large predatory therapsids of the Wordian epoch. It was once considered to belong to a separate infraorder of therapsids called Eotitanosuchia. Charact ...

::::* Suborder

Dinocephalia Dinocephalians (terrible heads) are a clade of large-bodied early therapsids that flourished in the Early and Middle Permian between 279.5 and 260 million years ago (Ma), but became extinct during the Capitanian mass extinction event. ...

:::::* Family Estemmenosuchidae :::::* Family

Anteosauridae Anteosauridae is an extinct family of large carnivorous dinocephalian therapsids that are known from the Middle Permian of Asia, Africa, and South America.These animals were by far the largest predators of the Permian period, with skulls reachin ...

:::::* Family Titanosuchidae :::::* Family Tapinocephalidae ::::* Suborder

Gorgonopsia Gorgonopsia (from the Greek Gorgon, a mythological beast, and 'aspect') is an extinct clade of Saber-toothed predator, sabre-toothed therapsids from the Middle Permian, Middle to the Upper Permian, roughly between 270 and 252 million years ago. ...

:::::* Family Gorgonopsidae ::::* Suborder

Anomodont Anomodontia is an extinct group of non-mammalian therapsids from the Permian and Triassic periods. By far the most speciose group are the dicynodonts, a clade of beaked, tusked herbivores. Anomodonts were very diverse during the Middle Pe ...

ia/

Dicynodont Dicynodontia is an extinct clade of anomodonts, an extinct type of non-mammalian therapsid. Dicynodonts were herbivores that typically bore a pair of tusks, hence their name, which means 'two dog tooth'. Members of the group possessed a horny, t ...

ia :::::* Family Dromasauridae :::::* Family Otsheriidae :::::* Family Galeopidae :::::* Family Venyukoviidae :::::* Family Eodicynodontidae :::::* Family Endothiodontidae :::::* Family Cryptodontidae :::::* Family Aulacephalodontidae :::::* Family Dicynodontidae :::::* Family Pristerodontidae :::::* Family

Emydopidae Emydopidae is a family of dicynodont Dicynodontia is an extinct clade of anomodonts, an extinct type of non-mammalian therapsid. Dicynodonts were herbivores that typically bore a pair of tusks, hence their name, which means 'two dog tooth'. Me ...

:::::* Family Robertiidae :::::* Family Kingoriidae :::::* Family Pristerognathidae ::::* Suborder

Therocephalia Therocephalia is an extinct clade of therapsids (mammals and their close extinct relatives) from the Permian and Triassic periods. The therocephalians ("beast-heads") are named after their large skulls, which, along with the structure of their te ...

:::::* Family Hofmeyeriidae :::::* Family Euchambersiidae :::::* Family Whaitsiidae :::::* Family Ictidosuchidae :::::* Family

Scaloposauridae Baurioidea is a superfamily (zoology), superfamily of therocephalian therapsids. It includes advanced therocephalians such as ''Regisaurus'' and ''Bauria''. The superfamily was named by South African people, South African paleontologist Robert Br ...

:::::* Family Lycideopsidae ::::* Suborder

Cynodont Cynodontia () is a clade of eutheriodont therapsids that first appeared in the Late Permian (approximately 260 Megaannum, mya), and extensively diversified after the Permian–Triassic extinction event. Mammals are cynodonts, as are their extin ...

ia :::::* Family Dviniidae :::::* Family

Procynosuchidae Procynosuchidae is an extinct family of therapsids which, along with Dviniidae, were the earliest cynodonts. They appeared around 260 million years ago, and were most abundant during the latest Permian time (251 mya), shortly before the Permian ...

:::::* Family Galesauridae

References

{{reflist * Benton, M. J. (2004), ''Vertebrate Paleontology'', 3rd ed. Blackwell Science Ltd * ----- (editor), (1993) The fossil record II. London: Chapman and Hall. *

Classification

See also

References