Prionosuchus is a genus of extremely large...

30th January 2012

Prionosuchus is a genus of extremely large temnospondyl amphibians from the Middle Permian (270 million years ago) which was found in an area of what is now Brazil.

The fragmentary remains of this animal have been found in the Pedra do Fogo Formation in the Parnaiba Basin of Northeastern Brazil, and it was described by L.I. Price in 1948. Reaching an estimated length of 9 m (30 ft), Prionosuchus is the largest amphibian ever found.

With an elongated and tapered snout, numerous sharp teeth, long body, short legs, and a tail adapted for swimming, its general appearance was very similar to a modern crocodile, particularly to the gharial, and it probably had a similar lifestyle as an ambush aquatic predator feeding on fish and other aquatic animals.

It has been classified as an archegosaurian by Carroll. The genus is monotypic with P. plummeri being the only species described. The archegosaurs were a group of temnospondyli that occupied the ecological niche of crocodiles and alligators during the Permian, and of which the European genus Archegosaurus is typical. The group went extinct at the end of the Permian and the niche was subsequently filled by reptiles such as the phytosaurs in the Triassic period.