Temnospondyli or temnospondyls is a diverse ancient order of small to giant tetrapods—often considered primitive amphibians—that flourished worldwide during the Carboniferous, Permian and Triassic periods, with fossils being found on every continent. A few species continued into the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous periods, but all had gone extinct by the Late Cretaceous. During about 210 million years of evolutionary history, they adapted to a wide range of habitats, including freshwater, terrestrial, and even coastal marine environments. Their life history is well understood, with fossils known from the larval stage, metamorphosis and maturity. Most temnospondyls were semiaquatic, although some were almost fully terrestrial, returning to the water only to breed. These temnospondyls were some of the first vertebrates fully adapted to life on land. Although temnospondyls are amphibians, many had characteristics such as scales and armour-like bony plates that distinguish them from the modern soft-bodied lissamphibians.
The Chapayevka is a river in Samara Oblast, Russia, a left tributary of the Volga. It origins at the slope of Siny Syrt and flows to the Saratov Reservoir, near Novokuybyshevsk, Samara agglomeration. It is 298 km long and its drainage basin is 4,310 km². The town of Chapayevsk lies along the river. The river is navigable for 34 km, from its mouth to Chapayevsk. The river has snow feeding and dries up in the upper stream. Since November till April it is used to be frozen. Major inflows are Petrushka, Vetlyanka, Vyazovka.
Eryosuchus is an extinct genus of capitosauroid temnospondyl amphibian from the Middle Triassic of northern Russia. It was a very large predator: the largest specimen known could reach up to 3.5 m (11.5 ft) in length, with a skull over 1 m long.
Sclerothorax is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibian from the Early Triassic of Germany. It is distinguished from other temnospondyls by its short and very wide skull and the elongated neural spines that form a ridge along its back. Sclerothorax is a basal member of Capitosauria, a large clade of temnospondyls that lived throughout the Triassic.
Trematosaurus is an extinct genus of trematosaurid temnospondyl amphibian found in Germany and Russia. It was first named by Hermann Burmeister in 1849 and the type species is Trematosaurus brauni.
Mastodonsauridae is a family of capitosauroid temnospondyls. Fossils belonging to this family have been found in North America, Greenland, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The family Capitosauridae is synonymous with Mastodonsauridae.
Angusaurus is an extinct genus of trematosaurian temnospondyl within the family Trematosauridae.
Inflectosuchus is an extinct genus of prehistoric amphibian.
Luzocephalus is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibian from the Early Triassic of Russia and Greenland. It is usually regarded as a member of the family Lydekkerinidae, although it has also been placed in the family Trematosauridae.
Odenwaldia is an extinct genus of mastodonsauroid temnospondyl within the family Heylerosauridae.
Thoosuchus is an extinct genus of basal trematosauroid trematosaurian temnospondyl. Fossils have been found from Russia and date back to the Early Triassic. It is the type genus of the family Thoosuchidae, formerly called the subfamily Thoosuchinae and placed within Benthosuchidae. The benthosuchids were originally composed of the majority of basal trematosaurian forms regarded as the ancestors of the trematosaurids.
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 that existed during the Mesozoic in ecological niches broadly similar to those of modern crocodiles, and some grew to very large sizes. At 6 meters in length, the Mid-Triassic Mastodonsaurus giganteus is not only thought to have been the largest capitosaur, but possibly also the largest amphibian to have lived. The latest known remains are from the Rhaetian of Germany and are referred to Cyclotosaurus.
Calmasuchus is a genus of capitosaurian temnospondyl which lived during the middle Triassic. Fossils of Calmasuchus have been recovered from the La Mora site of the Catalan basin in Barcelona of Spain. Identified from a partial skull roof and palate, skull fragments and complete hemi-mandible, it was named by Josep Fortuny, Àngel Galobart and Carles De Santisteban in 2011. The type species is Calmasuchus acri.
Vladlenosaurus is an extinct genus of capitosaur from Russia. It lived during the late Vetlugian. Based on the type of deposits it was found in, Vladlenosaurus probably inhabited lacustrine, or lake, habitats. The type species is V. alexeyevi, named in 2000.
Heylerosauridae is a family of mastodonsauroid temnospondyls. It was first named in 1980 to include the genera Odenwaldia and Quasicyclotosaurus. In addition to these genera, the family now includes Eocyclotosaurus and Yuanansuchus. Recent phylogenetic analyses have not found a close relationship between Odenwaldia and other heylerosaurids and place it outside the family. Heylerosaurids are generally regarded as the sister taxon of the stenotosaurids.
Qantas is a genus of trematosauroid temnospondyl from the Early Triassic. Fossils have been found from the Kamennyi Yar Formation in Borsky District, Samara Oblast. The type species Qantas samarensis was named in 2012 and placed in the family Benthosuchidae, as it was viewed as a close relative of Benthosuchus. The subfamily Qantasinae was established to include Qantas, and possibly the genus Tirraturhinus. Qantas is named after the Australian airline Qantas, which supported the original study of the fossils.
Edingerella is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibian from the Early Triassic of Madagascar. It is a basal capitosaur closely related to Watsonisuchus.
Tatrasuchus is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibian from the Middle Triassic of Poland. It is classified as a member of the family Cyclotosauridae or Mastodonsauridae. It is closely related to the genus Cyclotosaurus. The type species, Tatrasuchus kulczyckii, was named in 1996. Damiani (2001) considered genus Kupferzellia Schoch (1997) from Middle Triassic of Germany to be a junior synonym of Tatrasuchus, and recombined its type species, K. wildi as the second species of Tatrasuchus. This classification was followed by some authors, e.g. Fortuny et al. (2011); other authors, e.g. Schoch (2008), maintain Tatrasuchus and Kupferzellia as distinct genera.
Warrenisuchus is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibian from the Early Triassic of Queensland, Australia. It belongs to a diverse group of Triassic temnospondyls called Capitosauria. The type species Warrenisuchus aliciae was erected in 2009. W. aliciae was originally described as a species of Parotosuchus in 1988, which is known from other species that have been found in Europe, Africa, and Antarctica. In 2000 it was then assigned to a new genus called Rewanobatrachus along with the newly named species R. gunganj, which was declared the type species of the genus. However, R. gunganj was later reclassified as a species of Watsonisuchus, invalidating the name Rewanobatrachus and requiring that R. aliciae be placed in its own genus, which was named Warrenisuchus. However, several studies suggest that Warrenisuchus aliciae may be a species of Watsonisuchus as well. Unlike most capitosaurs, Warrenisuchus is known from many juvenile skulls less than 4 centimetres (1.6 in) in length.
Vakhnevo is a rural locality and the administrative center of Vakhnevskoye Rural Settlement, Nikolsky District, Vologda Oblast, Russia. The population was 175 as of 2002.
