PBDB Taxon

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Mastodonsauridae

Amphibia - Temnospondyli - Mastodonsauridae

Taxonomy

Mastodonsauridae was named by Lydekker (1885). It is not extant. Its type is Mastodonsaurus. It was considered monophyletic by Damiani (2001).

It was assigned to Apoecospondyli by Hay (1902); to Stereospondyli by Kuhn (1946); to Capitosauroidea by Kuhn (1971), Carroll (1988) and Schoch (1999); to Mastodonsauroidea by Damiani (2001); to Stereospondyli by Watson (1919) and Damiani and Rubidge (2003); and to Capitosauroidea by Moser and Schoch (2007).

Synonyms

Capitosaurus arenaceus was named by Münster (1836). It is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Benk bei Bayreuth, which is in a Ladinian/Carnian terrestrial sandstone in the Benkersandstein Formation of Germany.

It was recombined as Labyrinthodon (Capitosaurus) arenaceus by Owen (1859); it was recombined as Labyrinthodon arenaceus by Owen (1861); it was considered a nomen vanum by Welles and Cosgriff (1965); it was considered a nomen vanum by Paton (1976); it was considered a nomen dubium by Schoch and Milner (2000) and Damiani (2001).
Labyrinthodon lavisi was named by Seeley (1876). Its type specimen is BMNH R.4215, a mandible (posterior right mandible), and it is a 3D body fossil.

It was recombined as Mastodonsaurus lavisi by Paton (1974); it was considered a nomen vanum by Welles and Cosgriff (1965); it was considered a nomen dubium by Schoch (1999) and Damiani (2001).
Odontosaurus voltzii was named by Meyer (1835). It is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Soultz-les-Bains (Grès à meules Mb.), which is in an Aegean marine sandstone in the Grès à Voltzia Formation of France.

It was considered a nomen vanum by Welles and Cosgriff (1965) and Kuhn (1971).
Xestorrhytias perrini was named by Meyer (1855). It is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Gogolin, Upper Silesia, which is in an Anisian marine horizon in the Chorzow Formation of Poland.

It was considered a nomen vanum by Welles and Cosgriff (1965).
Trochanterium was named by Huene (1902). Its type is Trochanterium gaudryi.

It was considered a nomen vanum by Kuhn (1971).

It was assigned to Anomodontia by Huene (1902).
Trochanterium gaudryi was named by Huene (1902). It is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Saarbrücken area, which is in a Triassic terrestrial horizon in Germany. It is the type species of Trochanterium.

It was considered a nomen vanum by Kuhn (1971).
Mastodonsaurus vaslenensis was named by Meyer (1855).

It was considered a nomen vanum by Welles and Cosgriff (1965); it was considered a nomen dubium by Damiani (2001).
Capitosaurus polaris was named by Wiman (1914). Its type specimen is PIU U.120, a partial skull (Skull roof fragment), and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is NW side of Mt Congress (Mt. Middelhook), which is in a Triassic terrestrial sandstone in the Svalbard Formation of Svalbard and Jan Mayen.

It was considered a nomen vanum by Welles and Cosgriff (1965); it was considered a nomen dubium by Schoch and Milner (2000) and Damiani (2001).
Parotosuchus dirus was named by Chernin (1978). Its type specimen is SAM-PK-K434, a mandible (Fragments of lower jaw), and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Aliwal North Area, which is in an Anisian terrestrial siliciclastic in the Burgersdorp Formation of South Africa.

It was considered a nomen dubium by Damiani (2001) and Damiani and Rubidge (2003).
Capitosaurus bogdoanus was named by Woodward (1932). It is a 3D body fossil.

It was considered a nomen dubium by Damiani (2001).
Capitosauridae was named by Watson (1919). Its type is Capitosaurus.

It was synonymized objectively with Mastodonsauridae by Damiani (2001).

It was assigned to Stereospondyli by Watson (1919); to Stereospondyli by Haughton (1925) and Kuhn (1946); and to Capitosauroidea by Kuhn (1971), Warren and Hutchinson (1988), Carroll (1988), Shishkin et al. (2000), Yates and Warren (2000), Shishkin et al. (2004) and Sulej and Niedźwiedzki (2011).
Cyclotosaurus spitzbergensis was named by Wiman (1914). Its type specimen is PIU U.82, a partial skull (Anterior palate), and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Mt. Andersson, which is in a Smithian marine shale in the Kongressfjellet Formation of Svalbard and Jan Mayen.

It was recombined as Sassenisaurus spitzbergensis by Nilsson (1942) and Schoch and Milner (2000); it was considered a nomen vanum by Watson (1958) and Welles and Cosgriff (1965); it was considered a nomen dubium by Damiani (2001).
Odontosaurus was named by Meyer (1835).

It was considered a nomen vanum by Welles and Cosgriff (1965) and Kuhn (1971).

It was assigned to Labyrinthodontes by Meyer (1845); to Labyrinthodontia by Owen (1859) and Owen (1861); and to Capitosauridae by Gall (1971).

Synonymy list

Year	Name and author
1835	Odontosaurus Meyer
1835	Odontosaurus voltzii Meyer
1836	Capitosaurus arenaceus Münster
1845	Odontosaurus Meyer p. 282
1855	Xestorrhytias perrini Meyer
1855	Mastodonsaurus vaslenensis Meyer p. 136
1859	Odontosaurus votzii Gervais p. 507
1859	Labyrinthodon (Capitosaurus) arenaceus Owen p. 139
1859	Odontosaurus Owen p. 139
1859	Odontosaurus voltzii Owen p. 139
1859	Xestorrhytias perrini Owen p. 139
1861	Labyrinthodon arenaceus Owen p. 216
1861	Odontosaurus Owen p. 216
1861	Odontosaurus voltzii Owen p. 216
1861	Xestorrhytias perrini Owen p. 217
1876	Labyrinthodon lavisi Seeley
1885	Mastodonsauridae Lydekker
1902	Mastodonsauridae Hay p. 423
1902	Trochanterium Huene
1902	Trochanterium gaudryi Huene p. 20 figs. Pl. 6:2
1914	Capitosaurus polaris Wiman
1914	Cyclotosaurus spitzbergensis Wiman p. 22 figs. Pl. 9
1919	Capitosauridae Watson p. 67
1919	Mastodonsauridae Watson p. 68
1925	Capitosauridae Haughton p. 238
1932	Capitosaurus bogdoanus Woodward
1942	Sassenisaurus spitzbergensis Nilsson p. 93
1946	Capitosauridae Kuhn p. 52
1946	Mastodonsauridae Kuhn p. 52
1971	Odontosaurus Gall
1971	Odontosaurus voltzii Gall
1971	Capitosauridae Kuhn p. 6
1971	Capitosaurus arenaceus Kuhn p. 6
1971	Mastodonsauridae Kuhn p. 7
1971	Mastodonsaurus vaslenensis Kuhn p. 7
1974	Mastodonsaurus lavisi Paton
1978	Parotosuchus dirus Chernin
1988	Capitosauridae Carroll
1988	Mastodonsauridae Carroll
1988	Capitosauridae Warren and Hutchinson p. 860
1999	Mastodonsauridae Schoch
2000	Sassenisaurus spitzbergensis Schoch and Milner p. 102
2000	Capitosauridae Shishkin et al.
2000	Capitosauridae Yates and Warren pp. 84, 97 fig. 1
2001	Mastodonsauridae Damiani pp. 398, 460 fig. 35
2003	Mastodonsauridae Damiani and Rubidge p. 26
2004	Capitosauridae Shishkin et al. p. 125
2007	Mastodonsauridae Moser and Schoch
2011	Capitosauridae Sulej and Niedźwiedzki

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Rank	Name	Author
kingdom	Animalia	()
—	Bilateria
—	Eubilateria	Ax 1987
—	Deuterostomia
phylum	Chordata	Haeckel 1874
subphylum	Vertebrata
superclass	Gnathostomata
—	Osteichthyes	()
subclass	Sarcopterygii	()
subclass	Dipnotetrapodomorpha	(Nelson 2006)
subclass	Tetrapodomorpha	()
—	Tetrapoda

Rank	Name	Author
class	Amphibia
order	Temnospondyli	()
—	Eutemnospondyli
—	Rhachitomi	()
—	Eryopiformes
—	Stereospondylomorpha
—	Stereospondyli	()
—	Superstes
—	Capitosauria
—	Capitosauroidea	()
family	Mastodonsauridae	Lydekker 1885
family	Mastodonsauridae	Lydekker 1885

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

Fm. †Mastodonsauridae Lydekker 1885

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G. †Bulgosuchus Damiani 1999

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†Bulgosuchus gargantua Damiani 1999

G. †Cherninia Damiani 2001

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†Cherninia denwai Mukherjee and Sengupta 1998

†Cherninia megarhina Chernin and Cosgriff 1975

G. †Heptasaurus Säve-Söderbergh 1935

G. †Jammerbergia Damiani and Hancox 2003

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†Jammerbergia formops Damiani and Hancox 2003

G. †Komatosuchus Novikov and Shishkin 1992

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†Komatosuchus chalyshevi Novikov and Shishkin 1992

G. †Stenotosaurus Romer 1947

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†Stenotosaurus gracilis Kamphausen 1983

†Stenotosaurus semiclausus Swinton 1927

†Stenotosaurus stantonensis Woodward 1904

G. †Subcyclotosaurus Watson 1958

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†Subcyclotosaurus brookvalensis Watson 1958

G. †Tatrasuchus Maryanska and Shishkin 1996

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†Tatrasuchus kulczyckii Maryanska and Shishkin 1996

†Tatrasuchus wildi Schoch 1997

Invalid names: Kupferzellia Schoch 1997 [synonym]

G. †Wellesaurus Lehman 1971

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†Wellesaurus peabodyi Welles and Cosgriff 1965

Invalid names: Capitosauridae Watson 1919 [objective synonym], Capitosaurus arenaceus Münster 1836 [nomen dubium], Capitosaurus bogdoanus Woodward 1932 [nomen dubium], Capitosaurus polaris Wiman 1914 [nomen dubium], Cyclotosaurus spitzbergensis Wiman 1914 [nomen dubium], Labyrinthodon lavisi Seeley 1876 [nomen dubium], Mastodonsaurus vaslenensis Meyer 1855 [nomen dubium], Parotosuchus dirus Chernin 1978 [nomen dubium]

Diagnosis

Reference	Diagnosis
R. J. Damiani 2001	Primitive characters: supraorbital sensory canal traverses skull roof medial to the lacrimal or, more rarely, lies on the lacrimal-nasal suture; lateral line canals usually poorly impressed and discontinuous; anterior palatal vacuity usually single (unpaired). Derived characters: frontal bones included in the medial border of the orbit; denticle shagreen absent from palate (although remnants present in some species); dorsal surface of post-glenoid area of mandible usually displaying well developed muscular ridges: the crista muscularis, crista medialis and crista articularis; prearticular with large, dorsal projection on the anterior margin of the glenoid fossa, the hamate process; marginal teeth on upper and lower jaws strongly antero-posteriorly compressed at their bases; L-shaped quadrate condyles.

Measurements

No measurements are available

Composition:

phosphaticsubp

Environment:

brackish, freshwater, terrestrialuc

Locomotion:

actively mobilesubo

Life habit:

amphibioussubo

Diet:

carnivoresubo

Dispersal:

waterc

Created:

2009-07-20 21:44:54

Modified:

2009-07-20 23:44:54

Source: subo = suborder, c = class, subp = subphylum, uc = unranked clade

References: Uhen 2004, Carroll 1988, Hendy et al. 2009

Age range: base of the Spathian to the top of the Late/Upper Triassic or 251.30000 to 201.40000 Ma

Collections (62 total)

Time interval	Ma	Country or state	Original ID and collection number
Induan	252.17 - 251.2	Russian Federation (Orenburg)	Capitosauridae indet. (195824) Selenocara rossica, Samarabatrachus bjerringi (195805)
Induan	252.17 - 251.2	Greenland (Northeast Greenland National Park)	Wetlugasaurus groenlandicus (143870)
Smithian	251.3 - 247.2	Svalbard and Jan Mayen	Cyclotosaurus spitzbergensis, Sassenisaurus spitzbergensis (120228) Sassenisaurus spitzbergensis (120232 120366 144048)
Spathian	251.3 - 247.2	USA (Arizona)	Capitosauridae indet. (95109) Parotosaurus peabodyi (95105 95106)
Spathian	251.3 - 247.2	South Africa (Free State)	Kestrosaurus dreyeri (144318) Kestrosaurus sp. (145593 145594)
Spathian	251.3 - 247.2	Russian Federation (Orenburg)	Capitosauridae indet. (196040 196059)
Spathian - Aegean	251.3 - 242.0	Germany (Baden-Württemberg)	Stenotosaurus semiclausus (196849)
Spathian - Bithynian	251.3 - 242.0	Australia (New South Wales)	Capitosauridae indet. (136488)
Olenekian	251.2 - 247.2	Russian Federation (Orenburg)	Capitosauridae indet. (195839)
Olenekian	251.2 - 247.2	Russian Federation (Arkhangel'sk)	Komatosuchus chalyshevi (189553)
Olenekian	251.2 - 247.2	South Africa (Free State)	Capitosaurus haughtoni (98618) Kestrosaurus kitchingi, Parotosuchus haughtoni (98617)
Dienerian - Spathian	250.5 - 247.2	Australia (New South Wales)	Bulgosuchus gargantua (117150)
Aegean	247.2 - 242.0	France (Bas-Rhin)	Odontosaurus voltzii (206546)
Aegean - Bithynian	247.2 - 242.0	Germany (Bayern)	Stenotosaurus gracilis (97846)
Anisian	247.2 - 242.0	South Africa (Free State)	Jammerbergia formops (96328) Xenotosuchus africanus (144341 197001)
Anisian	247.2 - 242.0	Canada (Nova Scotia)	Capitosauridae indet. (227834)
Anisian	247.2 - 242.0	South Africa (Eastern Cape)	Capitosaurus africanus (141537) Parotosuchus dirus (80060) Xenotosuchus africanus (96329 196999) Xenotosuchus africanus, Parotosaurus sp. (92312)
Anisian	247.2 - 242.0	Russian Federation (Bashkortostan)	Capitosauridae indet. (97414)
Anisian	247.2 - 242.0	Namibia	Temnospondyli indet. (99452)
Anisian	247.2 - 242.0	Germany (Baden-Württemberg)	Heptasaurus sp. (196848)
Anisian	247.2 - 242.0	Australia (New South Wales)	Subcyclotosaurus brookvalensis (106483)
Anisian	247.2 - 242.0	India (Madhya Pradesh)	Parotosuchus denwai (136644)
Anisian	247.2 - 242.0	United Kingdom (England)	Labyrinthodon lavisi (88989) Mastodonsaurus lavisi (34403) Mastodonsaurus lavisi, Capitosauridae indet. (88992)
Anisian	247.2 - 242.0	Zambia (Eastern)	Rhinesuchus sp. (99437)
Anisian	247.2 - 242.0	Poland (Opolskie)	Xestorrhytias perrini (96435)
Middle Triassic	247.2 - 237.0	United Kingdom (England)	Stenotosaurus sp. (34402)
Middle Triassic	247.2 - 237.0	Germany (Saarland)	Trochanterium gaudryi (200037)
Illyrian - Fassanian	247.2 - 235.0	Poland	Tatrasuchus kulczyckii (195215)
Ladinian	242.0 - 237.0	Austria (Vorarlberg)	Cyclotosaurus sp. (97847)
Ladinian	242.0 - 237.0	Russian Federation (Orenburg)	Capitosauridae indet. (97440)
Longobardian	242.0 - 235.0	Germany (Baden-Württemberg)	Kupferzellia wildi (101873 101875 106349 106350)
Ladinian - Carnian	242.0 - 228.0	Germany (Bayern)	Capitosaurus arenaceus (97853)
Late/Upper Triassic	237.0 - 201.4	Svalbard and Jan Mayen	Capitosaurus polaris (144044)
Late/Upper Triassic	237.0 - 201.4	United Kingdom (England)	Capitosaurus stantonensis (167939)
Late/Upper Triassic	237.0 - 201.4	Uruguay (Cerro Largo)	Mastodonsauridae indet. (86401)
Norian	228.0 - 208.5	Greenland	Capitosauridae indet. (26996)
Norian - Rhaetian	228.0 - 201.3	South Africa (Free State)	Capitosauridae indet. (107138 107148 107149)
Norian - Rhaetian	228.0 - 201.3	Lesotho (Mohale's Hoek)	Capitosauridae indet. (107163)
Rhaetian	208.5 - 201.3	France (Lorraine)	Capitosauridae indet. (92109)