Chigutisauridae

Compsocerops

• Europe
• India
• South America
• Australia

The Chigutisauridae are an extinct group of aquatic, medium-sized terrestrial vertebrates from the group of Temnospondyli. They lived mainly in the Triassic, but are also detected from the Lower Jurassic of Australia. 1997 has been described with Koolasuchus even a Chigutisauridae from the Lower Cretaceous ( Albian ). Also Koolasuchus lived in Australia. The late forms survived probably in regions that were geographically isolated, or had a cool climate, so they were not inhabited by crocodiles.

The family was erected in 1951 to classify some short -headed Temnospondylen from Argentina.

Features

Externally they resembled today's giant salamanders. Her head was broad and flat, the big eyes sitting near the front. In the maxilla, they had large fangs, probably they were fish -eaters. Of all the other Brachyopoidea they differed by an extension of the skull to the back and a deep notch in the ear region.

The animals spent most of their life in water. The legs were relatively small and were probably only used to travel from a body of water to another.

Genera

The various species are distinguished mainly by their skull anatomy.

• Chigutisaurus
• Compsocerops
• Keratobrachyops
• Koolasuchus
• Kuttycephalus
• Pelorocephalus
• Siderops, is placed by some authors in the Brachyopidae family.