Temnospondyls were ancient amphibians that lived in or near water, with a lifespan of nearly 200 million years. Some survived through the Cretaceous, but it is unclear if they evolved into modern amphibians. They were the most numerous terrestrial animals during the Carboniferous and Permian, and ate a variety of prey. The Late Paleozoic was called the “Age of Amphibians” due to their emergence and occupation of terrestrial niches.
Temnospondyls are a strange and diverse group of very ancient amphibians that lived in a variety of habitats, as long as they were in or near water. Temnospondyls were common during the Carboniferous, Permian and Triassic, and some species even survived in geographically isolated areas through the Cretaceous. Temnospondyl fossils range in age from 310 to about 112 million years ago, giving a total lifespan of nearly 200 million years, 40 million years longer than dinosaurs. There is disagreement among paleontologists as to whether temnospondyls left no ancestors or evolved into any modern amphibians. They were previously thought to be the ancestors of frogs, but this view has since fallen out of favour.
The typical temnopsondyl had a broad crocodile-like head and smaller reptilian body, although variants existed with barrel-shaped bodies, salamander bodies, and alligator heads. Temnospondyls were among the first tetrapods and the first, like Dendrerpeton, resembled small lizards. Temnospondyls are part of a now-obsolete group called the labyrinthodonts, which includes the basal non-amphibian tetrapods, the ichthyostegids. Temnospondyls were the most numerous terrestrial animals during the Carboniferous and Permian, that is, during the late Paleozoic. At the time, tetrapod diversity was low compared to recent times. One of the only other land groups were the lepospondyls, which included lizard-, newt-, eel-, or snake-like forms that occupied specialized niches not occupied by temnospondyls. Some lepospondyls are famous for their U- or V-shaped heads.
The Late Paleozoic has been called the “Age of Amphibians” because amphibians had emerged and began to occupy numerous available terrestrial niches, including predators and herbivores ranging from a few inches in diameter to prehistoric giants such as the 9 m (30 ft) Prionosuchus, a crocodile-like temnospondyl that lived during the Late Permian, known as the largest amphibian fossil ever found. Temnospondyls ate just about anything edible at the time, including fish, insects, molluscs, and the like. They colonized the first forests in the world.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
