Dissorophoidea
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Dissorophidae |
Dissorophoidea are a clade of medium-sized, temnospondyl amphibians that appeared during the Late Pennsylvanian in Euramerica, and continued through to trhe late Permian and even possibly the Early Triassic of Gondwana (if Micropholis belongs here). They are distinguished by various details of the skull (see Laurin & Steyer, 2000, for list of apomorphies), and many forms seem to have been well adapted for life on land.
It has been suggested that they may be ancestral to the Frogs (Reisz, no date) or even the Lissamphibia as a whole, in which case the latter would be included in this clade.
It is possible that the small Permocarboniferous Micromelerpetontidae and the large late Permian Melosauridae may also belong in this clade.
[edit] References and Reliable Link References
- Laurin, M. and Steyer, J-S, 2000, Phylogeny and Apomorphies of Temnospondyls Tree of Life Project (peer reviewed)
- Reisz, Robert, (no date), Biology 356 - Major Features of Vertebrate Evolution - The Origin of Tetrapods and Temnospondyls
[edit] Other External Links
- Dissorophoidea - Palaeos
- Dissorophoidea - Mikko's Phylogeny Archive
