Abstract: Abstract The temnospondyls are the largest group of archaic amphibians, currently placed in 40 families and 160 genera. They first appear in the Visean, are represented by a wide range of forms from the Westphalian to the Spathian, and then decline in diversity, the latest specimen being of early Cretaceous age. A provisional phylogenetic analysis of temnospondyl families combined with their chronological distribution suggests that the patterns of diversity and evolution of the group can be modelled in terms of two major radiations, here termed the Carboniferous radiation and the Griesbachian radiation. The Carboniferous radiation commenced with the appearance of temnospondyls in the Visean and full diversification by the late Westphalian largely, if not entirely, within Euramerica. This was followed by relative stability through the Permian culminating in extinction of most families, probably at the end-Permian event. This extinction may have been centred in the northern region of Pangaea with differential survival of southern Pangaea temnospondyls through the Permo-Triassic boundary. The Griesbachian radiation of the stereospondyls may have been triggered by the ecological opportunities left by the end-Permian extinctions.
Publication Year: 1991
Publication Date: 1991-02-07
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 29
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