Biology:Parotosuchus
| Parotosuchus Temporal range: Early Triassic
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| Skull impression of P. nasutus in the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | †Temnospondyli |
| Suborder: | †Stereospondyli |
| Clade: | †Capitosauria |
| Family: | †Mastodonsauridae |
| Genus: | †Parotosuchus Otschev and Shishkin, 1968 |
| Species | |
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| Synonyms | |
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Parotosuchus is an extinct genus of capitosaurian temnospondyl amphibians within the family Mastodonsauridae. Fossils are known from the Early Triassic of Europe, Africa, Australia , and Antarctica. It was about 2 metres (6.6 ft) long and likely lived in aquatic environments such as lakes and rivers. Parotosuchus was covered in a scaly skin, unlike the smooth skin of modern-day amphibians, and probably moved with an eel-like motion in the water.[2]
Parotosuchus was originally named Parotosaurus. However, the name Parotosaurus was preoccupied by a genus of skinks,[3] and in 1968 the name Parotosuchus was proposed as a replacement.[4] The name Archotosaurus was also proposed as a replacement name in 1976,[5] although the author who proposed this was unaware that Parotosuchus was already in use. Because the name Parotosuchus was erected earlier than Archotosaurus, it has priority.[6]
References
- ↑ Mikhail A. Shishkin; Tomasz Sulej (2009). "The Early Triassic temnospondyls of the Czatkowice 1 tetrapod assemblage". Paleontologica Polonica 65: 31–77. http://palaeontologia.pan.pl/PP65/PP65_031-078.pdf.
- ↑ Yahoo News: Antarctic fossil prompts rethink about amphibian history
- ↑ Linkem, C.W.; Diesmos, A.C.; Brown, R.M. (2010). "A new species of scincid lizard (genus Sphenomorphus) from Palawan Island, Philippines". Herpetologica 66 (1): 67–79. doi:10.1655/08-074.1. http://www.nhm.ku.edu/rbrown/Rafes%20PDF%20publications/Linkem.etal.2010.traanorum.pdf.
- ↑ Kalandadze, N.N.; Ochev, V.G.; Tatarinov, L.P.; Chudinov, P.K.; Shishkin, M.A. (1968). "Catalogue of Permian and Triassic tetrapods of the U.S.S.R.". Upper Paleozoic and Mesozoic Amphibians and Reptiles of the U.S.S.R.. Moscow: Nauka. pp. 72–79.
- ↑ Patton, R.L. (1976). "A replacement name for Parotosuchus Jaekel (Amphibia: Labyrinthodontia)". Palaeontology 19 (2): 415–416. http://palaeontology.palass-pubs.org/pdf/Vol%2019/Pages%20415-416.pdf.[yes|permanent dead link|dead link}}]
- ↑ Damiani, R. J. (2002). "Parotosuchus (Amphibia, Temnospondyli) from the Cynognathus Assemblage Zone (Early Triassic) of South Africa: Cranial morphology and relationships". Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology 25 (4): 351–379. doi:10.1080/03115510108619226.
Further reading
- Parotosuchus (Temnospondyli: Mastodonsauridae) from the Triassic of Antarctica. Christian A. Sidor, J. Sebastien Steyer and Ross Damiani, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 2007, 27(1):232–235
Wikidata ☰ Q2561965 entry
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