Dissorophidae: Difference between revisions

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==Gallery==
==Phylogeny==
Below is a [[cladogram]] from Reisz ''et al.'' (2009):<ref name=RSA09>{{cite journal |last=Reisz |first=R.R. |coauthors=Schoch, R.R.; and Anderson, J.S. |year=2009 |title=The armoured dissorophid ''Cacops'' from the Early Permian of Oklahoma and the exploitation of the terrestrial realm by amphibians |journal=Naturwissenschaften |volume=96 |issue=7 |pages=789-796 |doi=10.1007/s00114-009-0533-x}}</ref>
<gallery>

File:Platyhystrix_BW.jpg|''[[Platyhystrix]]''
{{clade| style=font-size:85%;line-height:85%
File:Zygosaurus14DB.jpg|''[[Zygosaurus]]''
|label1=[[Dissorophoidea]]&nbsp;
File:Kamakops1DB.jpg|''[[Kamacops]]''
|1={{clade
File:Cacops1DB.jpg|''[[Cacops]]''
|1=[[Amphibamidae]]
</gallery>
|label2=&nbsp;[[Olsoniformes]]&nbsp;
|2={{clade
|1=[[Trematopidae]]
|label2=&nbsp;'''Dissorophidae'''&nbsp;
|2={{clade
|1=''[[Platyhystrix]]''
|2={{clade
|1=''[[Ecolsonia]]''
|2={{clade
|label1=&nbsp;[[Dissorophinae]]&nbsp;
|1={{clade
|1=''[[Broiliellus]]''
|2=''[[Dissorophus]]''}}
|label2=&nbsp;[[Cacopinae]]&nbsp;
|2={{clade
|1=''[[Cacops]]''
|2=''[[Kamacops]]''
}} }} }} }} }} }} }}


== References ==
== References ==

Revision as of 20:52, 22 October 2011

Dissorophidae
Skeleton of Cacops in the Field Museum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Phylum:
Class:
Order:
(unranked):
Superfamily:
Family:
Dissorophidae

Boulenger, 1902
Genera

Alegeinosaurus
Arkanserpeton
Aspidosaurus
Astreptorhachis
Brevidorsum
Broiliellus
Cacops
Conjunctio
Dissorophus
Ecolsonia
Fayella
Iratusaurus
Kamacops
Longiscitula
Platyhystrix
Zygosaurus

Dissorophidae are an extinct taxon of medium-sized, temnospondyl amphibians that flourished during the Late Pennsylvanian and early Permian periods in what is now North America and Europe. Despite being amphibians, they seem to be well developed for life on land, with well-developed limbs, solid vertebrae, and a row of armour plates of dermal bone, which both protected the animal and further strengthened the backbone.

A well known genus is Cacops, a squat solid animal from the late Early Permian (Artinskian age) Clear Fork group of Texas, with a relatively huge head, and a row of armor plates along the back. In the similar but slightly larger and more specialised genus, Platyhystrix, whose fossil remains are known from the Cutler Group of Utah, Coloardo, and New Mexico, the armor developed into a sort of ridge or sail.

Not all Dissorophids were squat-bodied big headed animals. Fayella, from the late Artinskian of Oklahoma, was lightly built with long limbs, obviously relying on speed rather than armour plating as a defense against predators.

There are a number of related forms which seem to have been more aquatic, which are known from the Late Permian of Russia and the Early Triassic of Gondwana.

It has been suggested that the Dissorophidae may be close to the ancestry of modern amphibians (Lissamphibia), as it is closely related to another family called Amphibamidae that is often considered ancestral to this group.

Fossil range

Below is a timeline of the known fossil ranges of dissorophids.[1]

Paleozoic EraPermianCarboniferousZygosaurusKamacopsIratusaurusAnakamacopsFayellaCacopsCacopsDissorophusBroiliellusAspidosaurusAspidosaurusAlegeinosaurusBroiliellusConjunctioDissorophusBroiliellusConjunctioBrevidorsumAspidosaurusAspidosaurusPlatyhystrixAspidosaurusPlatyhystrixAstreptorhachisPaleozoic EraPermianCarboniferous

Phylogeny

Below is a cladogram from Reisz et al. (2009):[2]

Dissorophoidea 

References

  1. ^ May, W. (2011). "New Upper Pennsylvanian armored dissorophid records (Temnospondyli, Dissorophoidea) from the U.S. midcontinent and the stratigraphic distributions of dissorophids". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 31 (4): 907–912. doi:10.1080/02724634.2011.582532. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ Reisz, R.R. (2009). "The armoured dissorophid Cacops from the Early Permian of Oklahoma and the exploitation of the terrestrial realm by amphibians". Naturwissenschaften. 96 (7): 789–796. doi:10.1007/s00114-009-0533-x. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)