Caudata

Belongs within: Lepospondyli.
Contains: Diadectosalamandroidei, Cryptobranchoidei.

The Caudata are the salamanders, one of the three major groups of living amphibian-grade tetrapods. The earliest well-supported caudates appear in the Jurassic, with both stem- and crown-group taxa known from this period. The majority of these early caudates are known from eastern Asia with the exception of the European Marmorerpeton (Gao & Shubin 2003). Triassurus sixtelae from the Upper Triassic of Uzbekistan has also been suggested to be a stem-caudate though other authors interpret it as a temnospondyl larva (Milner 2000).

Synapomorphies (from Milner 1988): Vertebrae with bicipital rib-bearers and basapophyses; atlas with tuberculum interglenoideum with distinct articulation facets; stapes with large footplate and short slender stylus; basibranchial I with radial horns in metamorphosed individuals; co-ossified scapulocoracoid.

<==Caudata [Batrachoidei, Caudati, Mecodonta, Saurobatrachii, Urodelia]
    |  i. s.: Liaoxitriton zhongjianiZBH03
    |         Ramonellus Nevo & Estes 1969RCQ03
    |         ComonecturoidesM88
    |         Prosiren elinoraeM00
    |         ‘Lacerta’ lacustris [incl. Triton cornifex]L97
    |         Sinobius melanonychusT93
    |--Triassurus sixtelae Ivachnenko 1978M00
    |--MarmorerpetonGS03
    |    |--M. freemani Evans et al. 1988M93
    |    `--M. kermacki Evans et al. 1988M93
    `--Urodela [Neocaudata, Salamandroidea]GS03
         |  i. s.: Diemictylus viridescensD56
         |--DiadectosalamandroideiPW11
         `--+--CryptobranchoideiPW11
            `--+--Jeholotriton paradoxusGS03, ZBH03
               `--+--Laccotriton subsolanusGS03, GS01
                  `--Sinerpeton Gao & Shubin 2001GS01
                       `--*S. fengshanensis Gao & Shubin 2001GS01

*Type species of generic name indicated

References

[D56] Dawes, B. 1956. The Trematoda with special reference to British and other European forms. University Press: Cambridge.

[GS01] Gao, K.-Q., & N. H. Shubin. 2001. Late Jurassic salamanders from northern China. Nature 410: 574–577.

[GS03] Gao, K.-Q., & N. H. Shubin. 2003. Earliest known crown-group salamanders. Nature 422: 424–428.

[L97] Latreille, P. A. 1797. Sur les salamandres de France. Bulletin des Sciences, par la Societé Philomathique de Paris 1 (5): 33.

[M88] Milner, A. R. 1988. The relationships and origin of living amphibians. In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Phylogeny and Classification of the Tetrapods vol. 1. Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds pp. 59–102. Clarendon Press: Oxford.

[M93] Milner, A. R. 1993. Amphibian-grade Tetrapoda. In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 665–679. Chapman & Hall: London.

[M00] Milner, A. R. 2000. Mesozoic and Tertiary Caudata and Albanerpetontidae. In: Heatwole, H., & R. L. Carroll (eds) Amphibian Biology vol. 4. Palaeontology. The evolutionary history of amphibians pp. 1412–1444. Surrey Beatty & Sons.

[PW11] Pyron, R. A., & J. J. Wiens. 2011. A large-scale phylogeny of Amphibia including over 2800 species, and a revised classification of extant frogs, salamanders, and caecilians. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 61: 543–583.

[RCQ03] Ruta, M., M. I. Coates & D. L. J. Quicke. 2003. Early tetrapod relationships revisited. Biological Reviews 78: 251–345.

[T93] Trueb, L. 1993. Patterns of cranial diversity among the Lissamphibia. In: Hanken, J., & B. K. Hall (eds) 1993. The Skull vol. 2. Patterns of Structural and Systematic Diversity pp. 255–343. The University of Chicago Press.

[ZBH03] Zhou, Z., P. M. Barrett & J. Hilton. 2003. An exceptionally preserved Lower Cretaceous ecosystem. Nature 421: 807–814.