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 Cynognathus Assemblage Zone is a tetrapod biozone utilized in the Karoo Basin of South Africa. It is equivalent to the Burgersdorp Formation, the youngest lithostratigraphic formation in the Beaufort Group, which is part of the fossiliferous and geologically important Karoo Supergroup. The Cynognathus Assemblage Zone is the youngest of the eight biozones found in the Beaufort Group, and is considered to be late Early Triassic (Olenekian) to early Middle Triassic (Anisian) in age. The name of the biozone refers to Cynognathus crateronotus, a large and carnivorous cynodont therapsid which occurs throughout the entire biozone.
Eryosuchus is an extinct genus of capitosauroid temnospondyl 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.
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.
Trematosauridae is a family of large marine temnospondyl amphibians with several included genera.
Gobiops is an extinct genus of temnospondyl from the Jurassic of Mongolia, China, and possibly Kyrgyzstan. The genus is represented by a single species, Gobiops desertus. It was named in 1991 from the Late Jurassic Shar Teeg Beds of Mongolia. Additional material was described in 2005 from the Middle Jurassic Toutunhe Formation in the Junggar Basin of China. Gobiops belongs to the family Brachyopidae. The poorly known genus Ferganobatrachus, named in 1990 from Shar Teeg, is probably synonymous with Gobiops.
Wellesaurus is an extinct genus of mastodonsauroid temnospondyl. They were amphibious carnivores that lived in freshwater environments.
Xenotosuchus is an extinct genus of mastodonsaurid temnospondyl within the family Mastodonsauridae known from the Triassic of South Africa. The genus is based on a skull originally described as Parotosuchus, an animal which it resembled in general build and habit.
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.
Energosuchus is an extinct genus of rauisuchian. Fossils are present from the upper Karyomayol and lower Synya Formations outcropping along the banks of the Bolshaya Synya river in the Timan-North Urals region in northern European Russia, as well as from the Bukobay Formation in the southern part of Bashkortostan in the southern Urals of European Russia. Both localities date back to the Ladinian stage of the Middle Triassic.
Vonhuenia is an extinct genus of proterosuchid, a basal archosauriform from the Early Triassic of Russia. Fossils have been found in the Vokhminskaya Formation, along the Vetluga River that are Induan in age, making Vonhuenia one of the earliest archosauriforms.
Blomosuchus is an extinct genus of archosauriform from the Early Triassic of Russia. The type species was named in 1992 as Blomia georgii. However, the name Blomia was preoccupied by a genus of mites in the family Glycyphagidae (Blomia), so the genus was renamed Blomosuchus in 1997. Fossils of Blomosuchus have been found along the Vetluga River besides fossils of another problematic archosauriform, Vonhuenia.
Exilisuchus is an extinct genus of archosauromorph reptile from the Early Triassic of Russia. The type species E. tubercularis was named in 1979. Fossils are known from two Russian assemblages, the Benthosuchus - Thoosuchus assemblage and the Angusaurus assemblage. Both are Olenekian in age. Although initially believed to be a proterosuchid archosauriform, a 2016 analysis found that it also shared features with tanystropheids, and thus is currently classified as Archosauromorpha incertae sedis. Due to the small amount of preserved material, this genus is sometimes considered a nomen dubium.
The Erfurt Formation, also known as the Lower Keuper, is a stratigraphic formation of the Keuper group and the Germanic Trias supergroup. It was deposited during the Ladinian stage of the Triassic period. It lies above the Upper Muschelkalk and below the Middle Keuper.
The Bukobay Svita is a Middle Triassic geological unit in Russia. It is composed primarily of red or grey lacustrine sediments, reconstructing a humid and marshy depositional environment. Bukobay is the youngest section of a Triassic terrestrial succession exposed south of the Ural Mountains. It is equivalent to a biostratigraphic unit, the Bukobay Gorizont, which is also called the "Bukobay Horizon" or "Mastodonsaurus" fauna).
The Yarenskian Gorizont is a major biostratigraphic unit in Russia corresponding to Upper Olenekian-age terrestrial sediments. It lies above the Ustmylian Gorizont of the Vetlugian Supergorizont, and is located below a short unconformity overlain by the Donguz Gorizont. Some paleontologists elevate the Yarenskian to a supergorizont and subdivide it into two smaller units: the older Fedorovskian Gorizont and the younger Gamskian Gorizont. Others prefer to consider the Fedorovskian and Gamskian to be subgorizonts or members of the Yarenskian. Vertebrate index fossils of the Fedorovskian include the lungfish Gnathorhiza, the trematosaurid Inflectosaurus, and the procolophonid Burtensia. In the Gamskian, these index fossils are replaced by Ceratodus, Trematosaurus, and Kapes, respectively. The Yarenskian as a whole is characterized by the capitosaur amphibian Parotosuchus, and has also been known as the Parotosuchus fauna. A few geographical influence on the faunas can be observed; erythrosuchids and rhytidosteids are more common in southern exposures while procolophonids and putative "rauisuchids" are more common in the north.
The Ustmylian Gorizont is a Lower Triassic biostratigraphic unit in Western Russia. The Ustmylian Gorizont is the youngest subunit of the Vetlugian Supergorizont, lying above the Sludkian Gorizont and below the Yarenskian Gorizont. It corresponds to the later part of the early Olenekian stage. Along with the Sludkian Gorizont, the Ustmylian Gorizont is encompassed by the "Wetlugasaurus fauna", named after a capitosaur amphibian index fossil. While the Sludkian is characterized by Wetlugasaurus angustifrons, the Ustmylian is characterized by Wetlugasaurus malachovi.
The Sludkian Gorizont is a Lower Triassic biostratigraphic unit in Western Russia. The Sludkian Gorizont is a part of the Vetlugian Supergorizont and corresponds to the middle part of the early Olenekian stage, lying above the Rybinskian Gorizont and below the Ustmylian Gorizont. The Sludkian and Ustmylian Gorizonts are together encompassed by the "Wetlugasaurus fauna", named after a capitosaur amphibian index fossil. The Sludkian is characterized by Wetlugasaurus angustifrons, while the Ustmylian is characterized by Wetlugasaurus malachovi.
The Rybinskian Gorizont is a Lower Triassic biostratigraphic unit in Western Russia. It is a part of the Vetlugian Supergorizont and corresponds to the earliest part of the Olenekian stage, lying above the late Induan-age Zaplavnian Horizon and below the Sludkian Gorizont. The Rybinskian Gorizont is sometimes known as the Benthosuchus fauna, due to abundant fossils of Benthosuchus, a temnospondyl amphibian index fossil. Related amphibians such as Thoosuchus also increase in abundance, and the interval additionally hosts the oldest fossils of procolophonines and putative true archosaurs in the region.
