Fossil amphibian collection

Paracyclotosaurus davidi fossil — The only known example of *Paracyclotosaurus davidi*, an amphibian that lived in Australia around 235 million years ago.

The fossil amphibian collection at the Museum contains approximately 400 specimens and casts.

Collection strengths

The collection contains 400 specimens and 46 type specimens, mostly of temnospondyl amphibians but also some microsaurs, nectrideans, frogs and salamanders.

Major collections

Palaeozoic amphibians

Carboniferous material

British Carboniferous material in the collection includes:

the only 3D skull of a baphetid
the most complete specimen of the stem-tetrapod Crassigyrinus
several specimens of the earliest temnospondyl, Balanerpeton, from East Kirkton, Scotland

The collection also contains significant Carboniferous material from:

Jarrow, Ireland, including the type specimen of Procochleosaurus
Joggins, Nova Scotia, including the type specimens of Dendrerpeton, Hylonomus and Trachystegos
Linton, Ohio, including many figured specimens

Permian material

Early Permian material from Germany includes about 20 Archegosaurus-bearing concretions from Lebach and a collection of temnospondyls from Odernheim-am-Glan, Germany, donated by Herman Credner. The specimen of Apateon pedestris from Niederhäslich shows soft tissue preservation and form.

Permo-Triassic material

As a result of early collecting in the British Empire in the 19th century, the collection includes a range of significant Permo-Triassic temnospondyl amphibians from:

the Karroo of South Africa, including the type specimens of Batrachosuchus, Lydekkerina, Rhytidosteus and Micropholis
India, including the type specimen of Brachyops
Australia, including the type specimens of Bothriceps, Trucheosaurus and Paracyclotosaurus

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Curators

Principal Curator in Charge

Heather Bonney

Curator

Marc Jones

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Geological range

Late Devonian to Pleistocene

Important historical collections

Palaeozoic amphibians
Mesozoic and Cenozoic amphibians

Fossil of Apateon pedestris, a 7cm-long larval amphibian. This 300-million-year-old specimen is so well preserved that you can see the entire outline of the body, the shape of the long tail, the eyeballs and even the faint impression of gills.
Skull of Benthosuchus sushkini, an amphibian that lived 230 million years ago. This fossil originates from the Triassic rocks of the Scharzhenga River, Russia.
A mounted specimen of Eryops megacephalus, an extinct amphibian that lived during the Early Permian period, 295-285 million year ago. This specimen is from Texas, U.S.A.
An 8-6 million year old specimen of a fossil frog Rana pueyoi from the Late Miocene, Teruel, Spain.

Mesozoic and Cenozoic amphibians

Triassic material

Our type specimen of Paracyclotosaurus is the only example of a complete articulated skeleton of a capitosaur, one of the major groups of Triassic temnospondyl amphibians.

We also care for a number of significant specimens from the Triassic of Europe including:

Benthosuchus sushkini from Russia
he type specimen of Stenotosaurus semiclausus from Germany
the type specimen of Procyclotosaurus stantonensis, the only complete amphibian skull from the Triassic of the British Isles.

Jurassic material

Microvertebrate amphibian specimens from Kirtlington, Oxfordshire, are the main Jurassic material in the collection. They include Eodiscoglossus oxoniensis, the earliest British fossil frog Marmorerpeton, the earliest British fossil salamander and the largest salamander Cryptobranchus (Andrias) scheuchzeri from Switzerland.

Palaeogene material

The collection includes a considerable number of specimens of Palaeogene amphibians from Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. There are also fossil frogs and salamanders from the Brown coals of Germany, including the type specimen of Eopelobates anthracinus.