Brachyopoidea
Sign in to saveBrachyopoidea is a superfamily of temnospondyls that lived during the Mesozoic. It contains the families Brachyopidae and Chigutisauridae. The earliest records of brachyopids are from the Lower Triassic in Australia. The latest-surviving member of the superfamily is the chigutisaurid Koolasuchus from the Early Cretaceous of Australia.
Article
5 sectionsContents
- Description
- Classification
- Notes
- References
- General references
Brachyopoidea is a superfamily of temnospondyls that lived during the Mesozoic. It contains the families Brachyopidae and Chigutisauridae. The earliest records of brachyopids are from the Lower Triassic in Australia. The latest-surviving member of the superfamily is the chigutisaurid Koolasuchus from the Early Cretaceous of Australia.
==Description== left|thumb|Restoration of the chigutisaurid Siderops kehli Some large brachiopoids, such as Siderops and Koolasuchus, grew to lengths of around . However, an unnamed Late Triassic or Early Jurassic brachiopoid from Lesotho in southern Africa is estimated to have been far larger. At an estimated , the brachiopoid from Lesotho is one of the largest amphibians sensu lato ever known. This estimate is based on a single jaw fragment found in 1970 by a French expedition near Alwynskop in Quthing.