Specimen image via iDigBio · CC0
Branchiosauridae
Sign in to saveBranchiosauridae is an extinct family of small amphibamiform temnospondyls with external gills and an overall juvenile appearance. The family has been characterized by hundreds of well-preserved specimens from the Permo-Carboniferous of Middle Europe. Specimens represent well defined ontogenetic stages and thus the taxon has been described to display paedomorphy (perennibranchiate). However, more recent work has revealed branchiosaurid taxa that display metamorphosing trajectories. The name Branchiosauridae (“Branchio” in Ancient Greek denoting gills and “saurus” meaning lizard) refers to the
Museum specimens
- Specimen records
- 12
- With media
- 1
- Family
- Branchiosauridae
- Collections
- USNM, ROM, KU
- Recorded in
- France, Germany
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- taxon
- Parent taxon
- Dissorophoidea
- Image
- Branchiosaurus salamandroides.JPG
Show 5 more facts
- Commons category
- Dissorophoidea
- taxon name
- Branchiosauridae
- taxon rank
- family
- start time
- 323200000-
- end time
- 247200000-
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
~13 min read
Encyclopedic overview
9 sectionsContents
- Geological/paleoenvironmental information
- Historical information/discovery
- Classification
- Family description
- Genera descriptions
- Paleobiology
- Ontogeny
- Histology
- References
Branchiosauridae is an extinct family of small amphibamiform temnospondyls with external gills and an overall juvenile appearance. The family has been characterized by hundreds of well-preserved specimens from the Permo-Carboniferous of Middle Europe. Specimens represent well defined ontogenetic stages and thus the taxon has been described to display paedomorphy (perennibranchiate). However, more recent work has revealed branchiosaurid taxa that display metamorphosing trajectories. The name Branchiosauridae (“Branchio” in Ancient Greek denoting gills and “saurus” meaning lizard) refers to the retention of gills.
== Geological/paleoenvironmental information ==
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Branchiosauridae” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.