Permian tetrapods
Encyclopedia
Permian Tetrapods were amphibians and reptiles that lived during the Permian Period
Permian
The PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian...

.

During this time, amphibian
Amphibian
Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...

s remained common, including various Temnospondyli
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...

 and Lepospondyli
Lepospondyli
Lepospondyli are a group of small but diverse Carboniferous to early Permian tetrapods. Six different groups are known, the Acherontiscidae, Adelospondyli, Aïstopoda, Lysorophia, Microsauria and Nectridea, and between them they include newt-like, eel- or snake-like, and lizard-like forms, along...

. Synapsid
Synapsid
Synapsids are a group of animals that includes mammals and everything more closely related to mammals than to other living amniotes. They are easily separated from other amniotes by having an opening low in the skull roof behind each eye, leaving a bony arch beneath each, accounting for their name...

s became the dominant type of animal, represented by the Pelycosaur
Pelycosaur
The pelycosaurs are an informal grouping composed of basal or primitive Late Paleozoic synapsid amniotes. Some species were quite large and could grow up to 3 meters or more, although most species were much smaller...

s during the Early Permian and Therapsids during the Middle and Late Permian, and distinguished by the appearance and possession of mammal-like characteristics (hence the old term "mammal-like reptiles"). These were accompanied by Anapsid
Anapsid
An anapsid is an amniote whose skull does not have openings near the temples.While "anapsid reptiles" or "anapsida" are traditionally spoken of as if they were a monophyletic group, it has been suggested that several groups of reptiles that had anapsid skulls may be only distantly related...

s or Parareptiles, which included both lizard-like and large herbivorous forms, and primitive diapsid
Diapsid
Diapsids are a group of reptiles that developed two holes in each side of their skulls, about 300 million years ago during the late Carboniferous period. Living diapsids are extremely diverse, and include all crocodiles, lizards, snakes, and tuatara...

s.

Classification

The following list of families of Permian tetrapods is based mostly on Benton ed. 1993. The classification follows Benton 2004:

Superclass Tetrapod
Tetrapod
Tetrapods are vertebrate animals having four limbs. Amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals are all tetrapods; even snakes and other limbless reptiles and amphibians are tetrapods by descent. The earliest tetrapods evolved from the lobe-finned fishes in the Devonian...

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  • Class Amphibia
  • Order Temnospondyli
    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...

  • Family Edopidae
  • Family Cochleosauridae
    Cochleosauridae
    Cochleosauridae is a family of Temnospondyli.-External links:*...

  • Family Trimerorhachidae
    Trimerorhachidae
    Trimerorhachidae is a family of dvinosaurian temnospondyls....

  • Family Dvinosauridae
  • Family Saurerpetontidae
  • Family Brachyopidae
    Brachyopidae
    Brachyopidae is an extinct family of Temnospondyl labyrintodonts. They evolved in the early Mesozoic and were mostly aquatic. A fragmentary find from Lesotho, Africa is estimated to have been 7 meter long, the largest amphibian ever known to have lived besides Prionosuchus.-External links:*...

  • Family Actinodontidae
    Actinodontidae
    Actinodontidae is a family of Temnospondyli of the superfamily Archegosauroidea that lived in the Permian period....

  • Family Intasuchidae
  • Family Archegosauridae
    Archegosauridae
    Archegosauridae is a family of relatively large and long snouted temnospondyls that lived in the Permian period. Most appeared and probably behaved like crocodiles.-References:...

  • Family Rhinesuchidae
    Rhinesuchidae
    Rhinesuchidae is a family of Temnospondyli that lived in the Permian and Triassic period.-External links:*...

  • Family Uranocentrodontidae
  • Family Zatrachydidae
    Zatrachydidae
    The Zatrachydidae are a family of late Carboniferous and Early Permian temnospondyl amphibians, known from North America and Europe. They are distinguished by lateral bony protuberances of the Quadratojugal bone of the skull, and a large opening in the palate. The skull is flattened, with...

  • Family Eryopidae
    Eryopidae
    Eryopidae are a family of medium to large Permian temnospondyli amphibians, known from North America and Europe. They are defined cladistically as all Eryopoidea with interpterygoid vacuities that are rounded at the front; and large external nares...

  • Family Parioxyidae
  • Family Peltobatrachidae
  • Family Trematopidae
  • Family Dissorophidae
    Dissorophidae
    Dissorophidae is an extinct family of medium-sized, temnospondyl amphibians that flourished during the Late Pennsylvanian and early Permian periods in what is now North America and Europe...

  • Family Micromelerpetontidae
    Micromelerpetontidae
    The Micromelerpetontidae was a family of Temnospondyli....

  • Family Branchiosauridae
  • Family Amphibamidae
    Amphibamidae
    Amphibamidae is an extinct family of dissorophoid euskelian temnospondyls. The earliest amphibamids such as Amphibamus are known from Early Permian strata in the United States, while the last known amphibamid, Micropholis, is known from the Early Triassic Karoo Basin of South Africa...

  • Superorder Lepospondyli
    Lepospondyli
    Lepospondyli are a group of small but diverse Carboniferous to early Permian tetrapods. Six different groups are known, the Acherontiscidae, Adelospondyli, Aïstopoda, Lysorophia, Microsauria and Nectridea, and between them they include newt-like, eel- or snake-like, and lizard-like forms, along...

  • Order Aïstopoda
    Aïstopoda
    Aïstopoda is an order of highly specialised snake-like amphibians known from the Carboniferous and Early Permian of Europe and North America, ranging from tiny forms only , to nearly in length...

  • Family Phlegethontiidae
  • Order Nectridea
    Nectridea
    Nectridea is an extinct order of lepospondyl amphibians from the Carboniferous and Permian periods, which included animals such as Diplocaulus. In appearance, they would have resembled modern newts or aquatic salamanders. They had long flattened tails to aid in swimming, and well-developed hind...

  • Family Diplocaulidae
  • Family Scincosauridae
  • Family Urocordylidae
  • Order Lysorophia
    Lysorophia
    Lysorophia is an order of aquatic Carboniferous and Permian amphibians within the extinct subclass Lepospondyli. Lysorophians resembled small snakes, as their bodies are extremely elongate. There is a single family, the Lysorophidae...

  • Family Lysorophidae
    Lysorophia
    Lysorophia is an order of aquatic Carboniferous and Permian amphibians within the extinct subclass Lepospondyli. Lysorophians resembled small snakes, as their bodies are extremely elongate. There is a single family, the Lysorophidae...

  • Order Microsauria
    Microsauria
    Microsauria is an extinct order of lepospondyl amphibians from the late Carboniferous and early Permian periods. It is the most diverse and species-rich group of lepospondyls. Recently, Microsauria has been considered paraphyletic, as several other non-microsaur lepospondyl groups such as...

  • Family Microbrachidae
  • Family Brachyslechidae
  • Family Tuditanidae
    Tuditanidae
    Tuditanidae is an extinct family of tuditanomorph microsaurs. Fossils have been found from Nova Scotia, Ohio, and the Czech Republic and are Late Carboniferous in age.Tuditanids were medium-sized terrestrial microsaurs that resembled lizards...

  • Family Hapsidopareiontidae
    Hapsidopareiontidae
    Hapsidopareiontidae is an extinct family of tuditanomorph microsaurs. Hapsidopareiontids are known from the Early Permian of the United States and possibly Germany and the Czech Republic....

  • Family Pantylidae
  • Family Gymnarthridae
    Gymnarthridae
    Gymnarthridae is an extinct family of tuditanomorph microsaurs. Gymnarthrids are known from Europe and North America and existed from the Late Carboniferous through the Early Permian. Remains have been found from the Czech Republic, Nova Scotia, Illinois, Texas, and Oklahoma.Gymnarthrids are...

  • Family Ostodolepididae
  • Family Rhynchonkidae
  • Family Cocytinidae

  • Superorder Reptiliomorpha
    Reptiliomorpha
    Reptiliomorpha refers to an order or subclass of reptile-like amphibians, which gave rise to the amniotes in the Carboniferous. Under phylogenetic nomenclature, the Reptiliomorpha includes their amniote descendants though, even in phylogenetic nomenclature, the name is mostly used when referring to...

  • Order Anthracosauria
    Anthracosauria
    Anthracosauria is an order of extinct reptile-like amphibians that flourished during the Carboniferous and early Permian periods, although precisely which species are included depends on one's definition of the taxon.-Various definitions:...

  • Family Eogyrinidae
    Eogyrinidae
    Eogyrinidae is an extinct family of large, long-bodied tetrapods that lived in the rivers of the Late Carboniferous period....

  • Family Archeriidae
    Archeriidae
    Archeriidae is a family of embolomeres that lived in the Permian period. Archeria is a well known genus of archeriid....

  • Family Chroniosuchidae
    Chroniosuchidae
    The Chroniosuchidae are a family of semi-aquatic reptiliomorp amphibians found in sediments from the upper Permian and the upper Triassic periods, most in Russia. They were generally rather large animals, with long jaws similar to those found in modern crocodiles, and probably lived a similar life...

  • Family Bystrowianidae
  • Order Seymouriamorpha
    Seymouriamorpha
    Seymouriamorpha were a small but widespread group of reptiliomorphs. Many seymouriamorphs were terrestrial or semi-aquatic. However, aquatic larvae bearing external gills and grooves from the lateral line system has been found, making them unquestionably amphibians. The adults were terrestrial...

  • Family Seymouriidae
  • Family Discosauriscidae
    Discosauriscidae
    Discosauriscidae is a family of reptiliomorphs of the early Permian group Seymouriamorpha....

  • Family Kotlassiidae
Orders/Suborders Uncertain
  • Family Leptorophidae
  • Family Enosuchidae
  • Family Nycleroleridae
  • Family Tokosauridae
  • Family Lanthanosuchidae
  • Family Tseajiidae
  • Order Diadectomorpha
    Diadectomorpha
    Diadectomorpha are a clade of large reptile-like amphibians that lived in Euramerica during the Carboniferous and Early Permian periods, and are very close to the ancestry of the Amniota. They include both large carnivorous and even larger herbivorous forms, some semi-aquatic and others fully...

  • Family Limnoscelididae
  • Family Diadectidae
    Diadectidae
    Diadectidae is an extinct family of large diadectomorph reptiliomorphs. Diadectids lived in North America and Europe during the Late Carboniferous and Early Permian. They were the first herbivorous tetrapods, and also the first fully terrestrial animals to attain large sizes. Footprints indicate...


Series Amniota
  • Class Sauropsida
    Sauropsida
    Sauropsida is a group of amniotes that includes all existing reptiles and birds and their fossil ancestors, including the dinosaurs, the immediate ancestors of birds...

  • Subclass Anapsida
  • Family Acleistorhinidae
    Acleistorhinidae
    Acleistorhinidae is a family of Early Permian-aged parareptiles. Presently, the clade consists of only two taxa, Colobomycter and Acleistorhinus, both collected from the Permian of Oklahoma. Sister taxa include Nyctiphruretidae and Sclerosauridae....

  • Family Eunotosauridae
  • Family Mesosauridae
  • Family Millerettidae
  • Family Nyctiphruretidae
  • Family Procolophonidae
  • Family Pareiasauridae
    Pareiasaur
    The Pareiasaurs - Family Pareiasauridae - are a clade of medium-sized to large herbivorous anapsid reptiles that flourished during the Permian period....

    • Basal Eureptilia
      Eureptilia
      Eureptilia is one of the two major clades of the Sauropsida, the other being Anapsida . Eureptilia includes not only all Diapsids, but also a number of primitive Permo-Carboniferous forms previously classified under the Anapsida, in the old order "Cotylosauria".Primitive eureptilians were all...

  • Family Captorhinidae
    Captorhinidae
    Captorhinidae is one of the earliest and most basal reptile families.-Description:...

  • Family Protorothyrididae
    Protorothyrididae
    Protorothyrididae is a family of small, lizard-like reptiles. Their skulls did not have fenestrae, as is also true of modern turtles and tortoises. Protorothyridids lived from the Late Carboniferous to Early Permian periods, in what is now North America. Many genera of primitive reptiles were...

    • Subclass Diapsida
  • Order Araeoscelidia
    Araeoscelidia
    Araeoscelidia or Araeoscelida is a clade of extinct diapsid reptiles superficially resembling lizards, extending from the Late Carboniferous to the Early Permian....

  • Family Araeoscelididae
Orders unspecified
  • Family Weigeltisauridae
  • Family Claudiosauridae
  • Family Heleosauridae
  • Order Younginiformes
    Younginiformes
    Younginiformes is a replacement name for the taxon Eosuchia, proposed by Alfred Romer in 1947.The Eosuchia having become rather a dustbin for many probably distantly-related primitive diapsid reptiles ranging from the late Carboniferous to the Eocene, Romer proposed that this be replaced by...

  • Family Acerosodontosaurus
    Acerosodontosaurus
    Acerosodontosaurus is an extinct genus of diapsid reptile....

  • Family Younginidae
  • Family Tangasauridae
    Tangasauridae
    Tangasauridae is a family of eosuchian diapsids. Specimens have been found that are of Late Permian to Early Triassic in age from the Sakamena Group of western Madagascar. They lived alongside other taxa present from the Sakamena Group, including temnospondyls, rhynchosaurs, and gomphodont...

  • Family Galesphyridae
  • Infraclass Lepidosauromorpha
    Lepidosauromorpha
    Lepidosauromorpha is a group of reptiles comprising all diapsids closer to lizards than to archosaurs . The only living sub-group is the Lepidosauria: extant lizards, snakes, and tuatara...

  • Family Paliguanidae
  • Infraclass Archosauromorpha
    Archosauromorpha
    Archosauromorpha is an infraclass of diapsid reptiles that first appeared during the late Permian and became more common during the Triassic. Included in this infraclass are the groups Rhynchosauria, Trilophosauridae, Prolacertiformes, Archosauriformes, and, tentatively, Choristodera...

  • Order Prolacertiformes
    Prolacertiformes
    Prolacertiformes were an order of archosauromorph reptiles that lived during the Permian and Triassic Periods...

  • Family Protorosauridae
    Protorosaurus
    Protorosaurus , a lizard-like reptile of the order Prolacertiformes, is the earliest known archosauromorph. It lived during the Late Permian period in Germany. In 1914, a new ceratopsian dinosaur found by Lawrence Lambe was again given the name Protorosaurus...

  • Division Archosaur
    Archosaur
    Archosaurs are a group of diapsid amniotes whose living representatives consist of modern birds and crocodilians. This group also includes all extinct non-avian dinosaurs, many extinct crocodilian relatives, and pterosaurs. Archosauria, the archosaur clade, is a crown group that includes the most...

    ia/ Order "Thecodont
    Thecodont
    Thecodont , now considered an obsolete term, was formerly used to describe a diverse range of early archosaurs that first appeared in the Latest Permian and flourished until the end of the Triassic period...

    ia"
  • Family Proterosuchidae
    Proterosuchidae
    Proterosuchidae is an early, possibly paraphyletic, assemblage of basal archosauriformes whose fossils are known from the Latest Permian of Russia and the Early Triassic of southern Africa, Russia, China, Australia, and Antarctica...

    • Class Synapsida
  • Order Pelycosaur
    Pelycosaur
    The pelycosaurs are an informal grouping composed of basal or primitive Late Paleozoic synapsid amniotes. Some species were quite large and could grow up to 3 meters or more, although most species were much smaller...

    ia
  • Family Eothyrididae
    Eothyrididae
    The Eothyrididae were a small group of very primitive, insectivorous synapsids. Only two genera are known, Eothyris and Oedaleops, both from the early Permian of North America...

  • Family Caseidae
    Caseidae
    The Caseidae were a widespread group of very primitive herbivorous synapsids, which appeared during the later early Permian and persisted until the late middle Permian. Although ranging in size from 1 to 5½ meters in body length, caseids were surprisingly conservative in their skeletal anatomy and...

  • Family Varanopidae
    Varanopidae
    Varanopidae was a family of synapsid "pelycosaurs" that resembled monitor lizards and might have had the same lifestyle, hence their name. No known varanopids developed a sail like Dimetrodon. Their size varied from lizard-sized to dog-sized creatures. Varanopids already showed some advanced...

  • Family Ophiacodontidae
    Ophiacodontidae
    Ophiacodontidae were pelycosaur synapsids. They appeared in the late Carboniferous period. Archaeothyris, and Clepsydrops were among the earliest Ophiacodontids. Archaeothyris and its relatives were the members of this family. Some ophiacodonts were semi-aquatic, and few were fully aquatic, but...

  • Family Edaphosauridae
    Edaphosauridae
    Edaphosauridae is a family of mostly large advanced, Late Pennsylvanian to early Permian pelycosaurs.They were the earliest known herbivorous amniotes, and along with the Diadectidae the earliest known herbivorous tetrapods...

  • Family Sphenacodontidae
    Sphenacodontidae
    Sphenacodontidae is a family of small to large, advanced, carnivorous, Late Pennsylvanian to middle Permian pelycosaurs. Primitive forms were generally small in size , but during the later part of the early Permian these animals grew progressively larger , to become the top predators of their...

  • Order Therapsida
  • Tetraceratops
    Tetraceratops
    Tetraceratops insignis was a lizard-like synapsid. It lived during the Early Permian period. According to a recent, controversial report, T. insignis is the first known therapsid. Other scientists, on the other hand, say that it is a more primitive species of synapsid, possibly an unusual,...

  • Suborder Biarmosuchia
    Biarmosuchia
    Biarmosuchia, also known as Eotitanosuchia and Phthinosuchia, is an assemblage of primitive Permian therapsids that represent either a paraphyletic stem group or a very early off-shoot of the main therapsid tree....

  • Family Phthinosuchidae
  • Family Biarmosuchidae
    Biarmosuchus
    Biarmosuchus tener was a therapsid that lived around 255 mya during the late Permian period. It was discovered in the Perm region of Russia. The specimen was found in channel sandstone that was deposited by flood waters originating from the young Ural mountains. The species is the most primitive of...

  • Family Ictidorhinidae
  • Family Burnetiidae
    Burnetiidae
    The Burnetiids were a family belonging to the Biarmosuchian clade that lived in the Permian Period. This family contains Bullacephalus, Burnetia, Lemurosaurus, Lobalopex, Niuksenitia, Paraburnetia and Proburnetia....

  • Family Eotitanosuchidae
    Eotitanosuchus
    Eotitanosuchus olsoni is a mammal-like reptile whose fossils were found in the town of Ochyor in Perm Krai, Russia, in channel flood deposits along with Biarmosuchus tener, Estemmenosuchus uralensis and Estemmenosuchus mirabilis.It lived about 255 mya and was a very large animal; although the...

  • Suborder Dinocephalia
    Dinocephalia
    Dinocephalia are a clade of large early therapsids that flourished during the Middle Permian, but became extinct leaving no descendants.-Description:...

  • Family Estemmenosuchidae
    Estemmenosuchidae
    Estemmenosuchidae are a family of large, very early herbivorous mammal-like reptiles that flourished during the Middle Permian period. They are distinguished by horn-like structures, probably for display or agonistic behavior. Apart from the best known genus, Estemmenosuchus, the group is poorly...

  • Family Anteosauridae
    Anteosauridae
    The Anteosauridae or Anteosaurinae are a family or subfamily of very large carnivorous Dinocephalia that are known from the Middle Permian of Russia and South Africa...

  • Family Titanosuchidae
    Titanosuchidae
    The titanosuchids were carnivorous to omnivorous tapinocephalid dinocephalians. As with other tapinocephalids, they had thick-skulls probably for head-butting. They appeared in the Middle Permian. They had large canine teeth, and their incisors were very strong...

  • Family Tapinocephalidae
    Tapinocephalidae
    Tapinocephalidae is an advanced family of tapinocephalians. They were all herbivores. They were giants of their time, weighing from 500 to 1000 kg and possibly over 1 or 2 tonnes in weight. They are known from South Africa and Russia. The tapinocephalid skull is very thick, probably used for...

  • Suborder Gorgonopsia
    Gorgonopsia
    Gorgonopsia is a suborder of therapsid synapsids. Their name is a reference to the Gorgons of Greek mythology. Like other therapsids, gorgonopsians were at one time called "mammal-like reptiles"...

  • Family Gorgonopsidae
    Gorgonopsia
    Gorgonopsia is a suborder of therapsid synapsids. Their name is a reference to the Gorgons of Greek mythology. Like other therapsids, gorgonopsians were at one time called "mammal-like reptiles"...

  • Suborder Anomodont
    Anomodont
    The Anomodontia were a major group of therapsids, an extinct group of animals commonly known as "mammal-like reptiles." They were mostly toothless herbivores. During the Middle Permian they were very diverse, including groups like the Venyukovioidea, the Dromasauria, the Dicynodontia, and early...

    ia/Dicynodont
    Dicynodont
    Dicynodontia is a taxon of anomodont therapsids or mammal-like reptiles. Dicynodonts were small to large herbivorous animals with two tusks, hence their name, which means 'two dog tooth'...

    ia
  • Family Dromasauridae
  • Family Otsheriidae
  • Family Galeopidae
  • Family Venjukoviidae
  • Family Eodicynodontidae
  • Family Endothiodontidae
  • Family Cryptodontidae
    Cryptodontidae
    The family Cryptodontidae was a group of anomodonts from the Permian and Triassic time periods.-Permian:In the Permian time period cryptodontids lived in what is now India and South Africa.-Classification:...

  • Family Aulacephalodontidae
  • Family Dicynodontidae
  • Family Pristerodontidae
  • Family Emydopidae
  • Family Robertiidae
  • Family Kingoriidae
  • Family Pristerognathidae
  • Suborder Therocephalia
    Therocephalia
    Therocephalians are an extinct suborder of carnivorous eutheriodont therapsids that lived from the middle and late Permian into the Triassic 265.0—245.0 Ma existing for approximately ....

  • Family Hofmeyeriidae
  • Family Euchambersiidae
  • Family Whaitsiidae
  • Family Ictidosuchidae
  • Family Scaloposauridae
  • Family Lycideopsidae
  • Suborder Cynodont
    Cynodont
    Cynodontia or cynodonts are a taxon of therapsids which first appeared in the Late Permian and were eventually distributed throughout all seven continents by the Early Triassic . This clade includes modern mammals and their extinct close relatives. They were one of the most diverse groups of...

    ia
  • Family Dviniidae
  • Family Procynosuchidae
    Procynosuchidae
    Procynosuchidae, along with Dviniidae, were the earliest cynodonts. They appeared around 260 million years ago, and were most abundant during the latest Permian time , shortly before the Permian-Triassic extinction event...

  • Family Galesauridae
    Galesauridae
    Galesauridae, along with the family Thrinaxodontidae and the large clade Eucynodontia make up the unranked taxon called Epicynodontia...

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