Coelophysis is a genus of coelophysid theropod dinosaur that lived approximately 215 to 208.5 million years ago during the Late Triassic period from the middle to late Norian age in what is now the southwestern United States. Megapnosaurus was once considered to be a species within this genus, but this interpretation has been challenged since 2017 and the genus Megapnosaurus is now considered valid.
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.
Clepsysaurus is a dubious genus of extinct archosaur described by Isaac Lea in 1851 from remains discovered in the Carnian Passaic Formation of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. Two species are known: C. pennsylvanicus and C. veatleianus. The holotype of C. pennsylvanicus, ANSP 9526, 9555-71, 9594-5, consists of teeth, ribs and vertebrae, while the holotype of C. veatleianus, AMNH 2331, consists of a single tooth, with AMNH 2330, a tooth, as a referred specimen. Other specimens of C. pennsylvanicus are known, including ANSP 15071 and AMNH 2337.
Metoposaurus meaning "front lizard" is an extinct genus of stereospondyl temnospondyl amphibian, known from the Late Triassic of Germany, Italy, Poland, and Portugal. This mostly aquatic animal possessed small, weak limbs, sharp teeth, and a large, flat head. This highly flattened creature mainly fed on fish, which it captured with its wide jaws lined with needle-like teeth. Many Metoposaurus mass graves have been found, probably from creatures that grouped together in drying pools during drought.
The Stereospondyli are a group of extinct temnospondyl amphibians that existed primarily during the Mesozoic period. They are known from all seven continents and were common components of many Triassic ecosystems, likely filling a similar ecological niche to modern crocodilians prior to the diversification of pseudosuchian archosaurs.
Apachesaurus is an extinct genus of metoposaurid temnospondyl amphibian from western North America.
Arganasaurus is an extinct genus of prehistoric temnospondyl amphibian belonging to the family Metoposauridae that lived in Morocco during the Late Triassic (Carnian).
Cryobatrachus is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibian from the Early Triassic of Antarctica. The type species is Cryobatrachus kitchingi. It is known from a partial skull and an imprint of the skull roof, both found in the Fremouw Formation of the Transantarctic Mountains at about 85° south latitude and described in 1974. Many small bone fragments have also been identified, although they cannot be attributed with certainty to C. kitchingi. Cryobatrachus has been classified in the family Lydekkerinidae, as it is similar in appearance to the genus Lydekkerina from South Africa. Because only a small number of features distinguish it from other lydekkerinids, Cryobatrachus kitchingi has more recently been considered a nomen dubium, meaning that its distinction from other better-known species may be unwarranted.
Calamops is an extinct genus of large temnospondyl amphibian known from the base of the Solebury Member of the Late Triassic Newark Supergroup of Pennsylvania, United States. Calamops was first named by Sinclair in 1917 and the type species is Calamops paludosus. It was usually thought to be a metoposaurid of questionable validity as its holotype and only known specimen, which comprises three pieces of a left mandibular ramus, had never been prepared. Following a preparation and casting of the specimen, Hans-Dieter Sues and Rainer R. Schoch found in 2013 Calamops to represent a valid taxon of trematosauroid temnospondyls that can be diagnosed by several autapomorphies. It represents one of the geologically youngest known long-snouted trematosaurs and the first record of these temnospondyls from the Late Triassic of North America. It is also the oldest known tetrapod fossil from the Triassic of the Newark basin.
Dutuitosaurus is a genus of metoposaurids, a group of amphibians that lived during the Late Triassic period. Dutuitosaurus was discovered in the early 1960s in Morocco and is known from the lower t5 units of the Timezgadiouine Formation exposures in the Argana Basin of the High Atlas Mountains and was first described in 1976 by French paleontologist Jean-Michel Dutuit. Material of Dutuitosaurus is currently held in the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle (MNHN) in Paris, France. It was originally placed within Metoposaurus as M. ouazzoui but was subsequently placed in its own genus, Dutuitosaurus, by Hunt (1993), who identified a number of differences between Metoposaurus and the Moroccan metoposaurids. Features that differentiate Dutuitosaurus from other metoposaurids include relative elongate intercentra and a maxilla that enters the orbit.
Dictyocephalus is an extinct genus of prehistoric temnospondyls; the only species is Dictyocephalus elegans. This taxon was one of the first metoposaurids to be discovered in North America, being discovered by Ebeneezer Emmons and briefly described by Joseph Leidy in 1856 in the Newark supergroup exposures of Chatham County, North Carolina. At the time, Leidy was uncertain of much of the anatomy of D. elegans, which is represented only by a small partial skull and made only brief descriptions and measurements of a few elements, with an estimated size based on the long-snouted trematosaur Trematosaurus. Emmons provided the first figures of the specimen the following year. Romer (1947) briefly mentioned that the specimen was indistinguishable from "Buettneria" (Koskinonodon).
Rileymillerus is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibian from the Late Triassic Post Quarry in the Dockum Group of Texas that was described by John Bolt and Sankar Chatterjee in 2000. The holotype, a nearly complete skull with articulated jaws, is housed at the Museum of Texas Tech University. The genus is named for Riley Miller, who allowed Chatterjee to work on the Post Quarry, and the species is named for the paleontologist John Cosgriff.
Anaschisma is an extinct genus of large temnospondyl amphibians. These animals were part of the family called Metoposauridae, which filled the crocodile-like predatory niches in the late Triassic. It had large skull about 62 centimetres (24 in) long, and possibly reached 3 metres (9.8 ft) long. It was an ambush hunter, snapping up anything small enough to fit in its huge jaws. It was very common during the Late Triassic in what is now the American Southwest.
The Triassic Lockatong Formation is a mapped bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. It is named after the Lockatong Creek in Hunterdon County, New Jersey.
The Popo Agie Formation is a Triassic geologic formation that crops out in western Wyoming, western Colorado, and Utah. It was deposited during the Late Triassic in fluvial (river) and lacustrine (lake) environments that existed across much of what is now the American southwest. Fragmentary fossils of prehistoric reptiles and amphibians, including pseudosuchian reptiles and temnospondyl amphibians, have been discovered in the Popo Agie Formation. Dinosaur remains are also among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation, although none have yet been referred to a specific genus.
Parioxys is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibian from the Early Permian of Texas.
Paleontology in Pennsylvania refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The geologic column of Pennsylvania spans from the Precambrian to Quaternary. During the early part of the Paleozoic, Pennsylvania was submerged by a warm, shallow sea. This sea would come to be inhabited by creatures like brachiopods, bryozoans, crinoids, graptolites, and trilobites. The armored fish Palaeaspis appeared during the Silurian. By the Devonian the state was home to other kinds of fishes. On land, some of the world's oldest tetrapods left behind footprints that would later fossilize. Some of Pennsylvania's most important fossil finds were made in the state's Devonian rocks. Carboniferous Pennsylvania was a swampy environment covered by a wide variety of plants. The latter half of the period was called the Pennsylvanian in honor of the state's rich contemporary rock record. By the end of the Paleozoic the state was no longer so swampy. During the Mesozoic the state was home to dinosaurs and other kinds of reptiles, who left behind fossil footprints. Little is known about the early to mid Cenozoic of Pennsylvania, but during the Ice Age it seemed to have a tundra-like environment. Local Delaware people used to smoke mixtures of fossil bones and tobacco for good luck and to have wishes granted. By the late 1800s Pennsylvania was the site of formal scientific investigation of fossils. Around this time Hadrosaurus foulkii of neighboring New Jersey became the first mounted dinosaur skeleton exhibit at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. The Devonian trilobite Phacops rana is the Pennsylvania state fossil.
Panthasaurus is an extinct genus of large temnospondyl amphibian belonging to the family Metoposauridae that lived in India during the Late Triassic (Norian) of central India. It contains one species, Panthasaurus maleriensis from the Lower Maleri Formation of India.
This list of fossil amphibians described in 2018 is a list of new taxa of fossil amphibians that were described during the year 2018, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to amphibian paleontology that occurred in 2018.
Buettnererpeton is an extinct genus of large temnospondyl amphibians known from the Late Triassic Dockum Group in Texas. The type species, B. bakeri, was long classified as part of other genera, such as Metoposaurus and Koskinonodon, but was placed in its own genus in 2022.
