Homotherium is an extinct genus of machairodontine scimitar-toothed cat that inhabited North America, South America, Eurasia, and Africa during the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs from around 4 million to 12,000 years ago. In comparison to Smilodon, the canines of Homotherium were shorter, and it was probably adapted to running down rather than ambushing prey.
Leiopelma is a genus of New Zealand primitive frogs, belonging to the suborder Archaeobatrachia. It is the only genus in the monotypic family Leiopelmatidae. The leiopelmatids' relatively basal form indicates they have an ancient lineage. While some taxonomists have suggested combining the North American frogs of the genus Ascaphus in the family Ascaphidae with the New Zealand frogs of the genus Leiopelma in the family Leiopelmatidae, the current consensus is that these two groups constitute two separate families. The four extant species of Leiopelmatidae are only found in New Zealand.
Bombinatoridae is a family of toads found in Eurasia. Species of the family have flattened bodies and some are highly toxic.
In paleontology, a Lazarus taxon is a taxon that disappears for one or more periods from the fossil record, only to appear again later. Likewise in conservation biology and ecology, it can refer to species or populations that were thought to be extinct, and are rediscovered. The term Lazarus taxon was coined by Karl W. Flessa & David Jablonski in 1983 and was then expanded by Jablonski in 1986. Paul Wignall and Michael Benton defined Lazarus taxa as, "At times of biotic crisis many taxa go extinct, but others only temporarily disappeared from the fossil record, often for intervals measured in millions of years, before reappearing unchanged". Earlier work also supports the concept though without using the name Lazarus taxon, like work by Christopher R. C. Paul.
Palaeoloxodon is an extinct genus of elephant. The genus originated in Africa during the Pliocene, and expanded into Eurasia during the Pleistocene. The genus contains some of the largest known species of elephants, over 4 metres (13 ft) tall at the shoulders, including the European straight-tusked elephant and the South Asian Palaeoloxodon namadicus, the latter of which has been suggested to be the largest known land mammal based on extrapolation from fragmentary remains, though these estimates are highly speculative. In contrast, the genus also contains many species of dwarf elephants that evolved via insular dwarfism on islands in the Mediterranean, some only 1 metre (3.3 ft) in height, making them the smallest elephants known. The genus has a long and complex taxonomic history, and at various times, it has been considered to belong to Loxodonta or Elephas, but today is usually considered a valid and separate genus in its own right.
Gomphotheres are an extinct group of proboscideans related to modern elephants. They were widespread across Afro-Eurasia and North America during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs and dispersed into South America during the Pleistocene as part of the Great American Interchange. Gomphotheres are a paraphyletic group that is ancestral to Elephantidae, which contains modern elephants, as well as Stegodontidae. While most famous forms such as Gomphotherium had long lower jaws with tusks, which is the ancestral condition for the group, some later members developed shortened (brevirostrine) lower jaws with either vestigial or no lower tusks, looking very similar to modern elephants, an example of parallel evolution, which outlasted the long-jawed gomphotheres. By the end of the Early Pleistocene, gomphotheres became extinct in Afro-Eurasia, with the last two genera, Cuvieronius ranging from southern North America to eastern South America, and Notiomastodon having a wide range over most of South America until the end of the Pleistocene around 12,000 years ago, when they became extinct following the arrival of humans.
Thylacoleonidae is a family of extinct carnivorous marsupials from Australia, referred to as marsupial lions. The best known is Thylacoleo carnifex, also called the marsupial lion. The clade ranged from the Late Oligocene to the Pleistocene, with some species the size of a possum and others as large as that of a leopard. As a whole, they were largely arboreal, in contrast to the mostly terrestrial dasyuromorphs, monitor lizards and mekosuchines.
Palaeobatrachus is an extinct genus of frogs from Europe that existed from the middle Eocene to the middle Pleistocene, spanning almost 50 million years. They were obligately aquatic, and would have not spent much time on dry land. They are one of two genera and by far the largest genus in the family Palaeobatrachidae, which are considered to be members of Pipimorpha, related to the South American-African family Pipidae, which includes the African clawed frog and Surinam toad.
Triadobatrachus is an extinct genus of salientian frog-like amphibians, including only one known species, Triadobatrachus massinoti. It is the oldest member of the frog lineage known, and an excellent example of a transitional fossil. It lived during the Early Triassic about 250 million years ago, in what is now Madagascar.
Beelzebufo ampinga was a particularly large species of prehistoric frog described in 2008. Common names assigned by the popular media include devil frog, devil toad, and the frog from hell.
Rana basaltica is an extinct species of frog from Middle Miocene of China. It is known from the Shanwang formation beds in the Shanwang National Geological Park, Shandong Province, China.
Eopelobates is an extinct genus of frogs in the family Pelobatidae. Closely related to the living European spadefoot toad, it is known from the Eocene of western North America, and the Eocene–Pliocene of Europe. It is suggested that the distribution over both Europe and North America is due to dispersal during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum.
Albionbatrachus is an extinct genus of prehistoric frogs from England and Romania. Two species are recognized: While previously synonymised with Palaeobatrachus, it is now considered a distinct palaeobatrachid genus based on characters of the frontoparietals.
Lithobatrachus is an extinct genus of prehistoric amphibian. It was described in 1929 by Hampton Wildman Parker based on a poorly preserved specimen that was first described as Hyla europaea by Gladwyn Kingsley Noble the year before. The two engaged in a debate whether the new genus was warranted. It might belong to the family Palaeobatrachidae, but this remains ambiguous.
Macropelobates is an extinct genus of prehistoric frogs. It was described by Gladwyn Kingsley Noble based on material from Oligocene of Mongolia.
The Salientia are a total group of amphibians that includes the order Anura, the frogs and toads, and various extinct proto-frogs that are more closely related to the frogs than they are to the Urodela, the salamanders and newts. The oldest fossil "proto-frog" appeared in the early Triassic of Madagascar, but molecular clock dating suggests their origins may extend further back to the Permian, 265 million years ago.
Pipimorpha is an unranked clade containing all frogs which are more closely related to living Pipidae species than to living Rhinophrynus species. Members of this group are highly adapted to aquatic life. The oldest pipimorphs are Neusibatrachus and Gracilibatrachus from the Early Cretaceous of Spain, with other records of the group known from Afro-Arabia and South America like modern Pipidae. The extinct family Palaeobatrachidae, particularly the genus Palaeobatrachus were widespread and abundant in Europe during the Cenozoic, until their extinction during the Middle Pleistocene around 500,000 years ago due to being unable to cope with the increasing aridity and freezing temperatures of the ice ages.
Latonia is a genus of frogs in the family Alytidae. It contains only one extant species, the Hula painted frog which is endemic to Israel and was originally classified in the genus Discoglossus, though several fossil species are known from the Paleogene and Neogene periods in Europe.
Electrorana is an extinct genus of frog that lived in what is now Myanmar during the mid-Cretaceous, around 99 million years ago. The type and only species is E. limoae.
