Trematosauria is one of two major groups of
temnospondyl
Temnospondyli (from Greek language, Greek τέμνειν, ''temnein'' 'to cut' and σπόνδυλος, ''spondylos'' 'vertebra') or temnospondyls is a diverse ancient order (biology), order of small to giant tetrapods—often considered Labyrinth ...
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 fully aquatic. The group included long-snouted forms such as the
trematosauroids and short, broad-headed forms such as the
metoposaurs.
Although most groups did not survive beyond the
Triassic
The Triassic ( ; sometimes symbolized 🝈) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.5 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.4 Mya. The Triassic is t ...
, one lineage, the
brachyopoids, continued until the
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...
period. Trematosauria is defined as all
stereospondyls more closely related to ''
Trematosaurus'' than to ''
Parotosuchus
''Parotosuchus'' is an extinct genus of capitosaurian temnospondyls within the family Mastodonsauridae. Fossils are known from the Early Triassic of Europe, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica. It was about long and likely lived in aquatic envir ...
'', a capitosaurian.
Classification
Phylogeny
Cladogram
A cladogram (from Greek language, Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an Phylogenetic tree, evolutionary tree because it does not s ...
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 ...
Triassic temnospondyls
Jurassic temnospondyls
Cretaceous temnospondyls
Early Triassic first appearances
Cretaceous extinctions
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