Australerpeton

Australerpeton Temporal range: Permian
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Temnospondyli
(unranked):	Stereospondylomorpha
Superfamily:	?Archegosauroidea
Family:	?Archegosauridae
Genus:	Australerpeton Barberena, 1998
Species
A. cosgriffi Barberena, 1998 (type)

Australerpeton is an extinct genus of archegosauroidean stereospondylomorph temnospondyl within the family Archegosauridae. When first named in 1998, the genus was placed within the new family Australerpetontidae.^[1] However, later studies questioned the systematics used in the original description and included the genus within Archegosauridae.^[2] A more recent study reassigned Australerpeton to the family Rhinesuchidae within the suborder Stereospondyli based on an earlier evaluation of the family. In the study, the close similarities between Australerpeton and archegosaurids were attributed to convergent evolution as a result of similar semi-aquatic lifestyles.^[3]

References

1. Barberena, M. C. (1998). "Australerpeton cosgriffi n.g., n.sp., a Late Permian Rhinesuchoid amphibian from Brazil". Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências 70 (1): 125–137.
2. Schoch, R. R. and Milner, A. R. (2000). Stereospondyli. Stem-stereospondyli, Rhinesuchidae, Rhytidostea, Trematosauroidea, Capitosauroidea. Handbuch der paläoherpetologie Part 3B. 203p
3. Dias, E. V.; Schultz, C. L. (2003). "The first Paleozoic temnospondyl postcranial skeleton from South America" (PDF). Revista Brasileira de Paleontologia 6: 29–42. Retrieved 2009-10-08.