Mastodonsauroidea

Capitosaurus

• Worldwide

The Capitosauria are extinct, early land vertebrates from the group of Temnospondyli. They lived on the Lower Triassic to Middle Jurassic and had spread through all continents. Shortly before the end of the Triassic they died out. The Capitosauria include all taxa that are more closely related than Parotosuchus with Trematosaurus.

The first dinosaur fossil Capito, including parts of the skull of more than a meter in length, was found in the first half of the 19th century a mine near Gaildorf in northern Württemberg and described by GF hunters as one giant salamander Mastodonsaurus giganteus. Nowadays there are 20 genera and 42 valid species.

Features

Of all the Temnospondyli Capitosauria among the biggest. They reached lengths of three to four meters, the large strongly flattened skull could reach a length of one meter for large shapes. Your legs and the ossification of the skeleton were reduced, so most likely a mandatory water inhabitants were. The other lived semi -aquatic.

System

Inside systematics

The internal classification by Fortuny et al. (2010):

Wetlugasaurus

Odenwaldia

Vladlenosaurus

Edingerella

Watsonisuchus

Xenotosuchus

Cherninia

Paracyclotosaurus

Stanocephalosaurus

Procyclotosaurus

Eocyclotosaurus

Quasicyclotosaurus

Parotosuchus

Calmasuchus

Cyclotosaurus

Tatrasuchus

Eryosuchus

Mastodonsaurus

Outer systematics

The Capitosauria are the sister group of the Trematosauria that lived in the Triassic. These are summarized to the group Stereospondyli. Together with the Divinosauria form taxon Limnarchia, which in turn forms a sister taxon an unnamed group includes, among other things, the present amphibians ( Lissamphibia ).

Divinosauria

Trematosauria

Capitosauria

Dendrerpetontidae

Eryopidae

Dissorophidae

Branchiosauridae

Amphibamidae

Lissamphibia (today ( recent ) amphibians)

Stratigraphy

• Indusium: Wetlugasaurus, Watsonisuchus.
• Olenekian: Survivors early Capitosauria, Sclerothorax, Parotosuchus, Odenwaldia, Stanocephalosaurus birdi.
• Anisian: Eocyclotosaurus, Quasicyclotosaurus, Mastodonsaurus, Stenotosaurus.
• Ladinium: Eryosuchus, Xenotosuchus, Kupferzellia, Tatrasuchus, " Cyclotosaurus " papilio, Mastodonsaurus.
• Carnian: Capitosaurus, Cyclotosaurus, Mastodonsaurus.
• Norian: Only Cyclotosaurus in Greenland and Eurasia.

For Procyclotosaurus, Paracyclotosaurus, Cherninia, and " Stanocephalosaurus " pronus only the middle Triassic period is given.