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| Temnospondyls | |
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| Eryops, a large temnospondyl from the early Permian. National Museum of Natural History, Washington DC | |
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| Order: | Temnospondyli |
Temnospondyls are an order of small to giant batrachomorph tetrapods. They lived worldwide from the Carboniferous to the Triassic. A few species continued into the Lower Cretaceous.
The Temnospondyls are similar or identical to the Labyrinthodonts minus the Lepospondyls. It is probably an evolutionary grade, not monophyletic. It is convenient to use, because all these early amphibia were so different from present-day amphibia.p169 Many in the early Permian looked more like reptiles because they were adapted to life in a drier climate. Nevertheless, they were amphibians, and many larval stages have been found.
They are a large group of some 40 families and 160 genera.p322Fossils have been found on every continent. Their evolutionary history spans 210 million years. During this time, they adapted to a wide range of habitats including fresh water, terrestrial, and even coastal marine environments.
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