Mastodonsauroidea
Encyclopedia
The Mastodonsauroidea are an extinct superfamily of temnospondyl
amphibians known from the Triassic
and Jurassic
. Fossil
s belonging to this superfamily have been found in North America
, Greenland
, Europe
, Asia
, and Australia
. The genus Ferganobatrachus
is included in this superfamily but not placed
in any of the included families.
Temnospondyli
Temnospondyli is a diverse order of small to giant tetrapods—often considered primitive amphibians—that flourished worldwide during the Carboniferous, Permian, and Triassic periods. A few species continued into the Cretaceous. Fossils have been found on every continent...
amphibians known from the Triassic
Triassic
The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...
and Jurassic
Jurassic
The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...
. Fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s belonging to this superfamily have been found in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The genus Ferganobatrachus
Ferganobatrachus
Ferganobatrachus is an extinct genus of mastodonsauroid temnospondyl. Fossils are known from the Late Jurassic Balabansay Formation in Fergana, Uzbekistan.-See also:* Prehistoric amphibian* List of prehistoric amphibians...
is included in this superfamily but not placed
Incertae sedis
, is a term used to define a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Uncertainty at specific taxonomic levels is attributed by , , and similar terms.-Examples:*The fossil plant Paradinandra suecica could not be assigned to any...
in any of the included families.
External links
- Cladogram of Mastodonsauroidea at Mikko's Phylogeny ArchiveMikko's Phylogeny ArchiveMikko's Phylogeny Archive is an amateur paleontology website maintained by Mikko Haaramo, a student at the University of Helsinki's Department of Geology, Division of Geology and Palaeontology....