#metoposaurus

[temnospondyltime]

Metoposaurus

Day 3 of daily temnospondyls!

Metoposaurus is a late triassic genus of the steryospondyli group of temnospondyls, and is a pretty large temnospondyl at about 3m. Like other temnospondyls, they probably had a diet consisting mostly of fish.

Metoposaurus would have been mosty aquatic, probably living in lakes.

Some members of this genus are also know to have suffered from scoliosis

Art credit: Mario Lanzas

[fromthedust]

Metoposaurus skull and jaw - amphibian - Late Triassic - 237 - 201.3 million years ago

[roosaurusrin]

What Big Teeth You Have

This Late Triassic amphibian, known as Metoposaurus, truly lives up to the subclass name “Labyrinthodontia”- or maze tooth.

[temnospondyltime]

Assorted temnospondyl doodles featuring guys I’ve posted about!

Posts might be a bit slow until next week since it’s exam season rn

[overduequotes]

Craig: So this isn't even a dinosaur, I think this is one of the primitive almost-dinosaurs called metoposaurus...

Andrew: It evolves from caterpiesaurus.

[alphynix]

Amphibian August #16 -- Metoposaurus

Known from the Late Triassic of Europe and North America (~228-216 mya), Metoposaurus was a typical member of the metoposaurid temnospondyls. Although they were closely related to the marine trematosaurids, these amphibians had flatter bodies, broader snouts, and eyes set much further forward on their heads, and inhabited freshwater ecosystems such as rivers and lakes.

Reaching up to 3m long (9′10″), Metoposaurus was probably entirely aquatic, with weak limbs that wouldn’t have been able to support its own weight on land. It had a particularly stiff spine and couldn’t undulate its body to swim, instead using flipper-like motions of its limbs to move around underwater.

Large numbers of metoposaurids have been found in several mass grave sites, with fossils representing hundreds of animals in dense jumbled bone beds. These have often been interpreted as mass stranding deaths from droughts, but they may actually be the result of river currents carrying remains to a spot where they all accumulated over longer periods of time -- with their actual origin being occasional individual deaths at large breeding gatherings further upriver.

Growth rings in juvenile Metoposaurus bones from Poland also suggest that they were capable of aestivating during long dry seasons, burrowing underground until more favorable conditions returned.

[tinyadventurejournal]

Petrified Forest - Part 4.

Even before I arrived at the Petrified Forest, I was pretty excited about the idea of getting to barrel out into the desert at night, and wander until I got lost enough to want to find my way back(or had gotten through 1/2 of my water). My friend Nathan came out to visit me for a couple days, and was a perfect “wandering out into the desert” companion, especially when he had to physically shove me up a cliff.

The Triassic critters pictured are a phytosaur, a metoposaurus and a chindesaurus. Out of the three, only the chindesaurus is a dinosaur, a fact that I was reminded of many times during my stay.

[infinitemachine]

Temnospondyl Amphibian of the Day: Metoposaurus by ~stablefly

Metoposaurus Family: Metoposauridae Time: Late Triassic Location: Europe Size (length): 3m (10ft) Notes: Not a dinosaur.