Zygosaurus

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Phylum:Chordata
Clade:Tetrapoda
Order:Temnospondyli
Family:Dissorophidae
Zygosaurus
Temporal range: Middle Permian
Life restoration of Zygosaurus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Tetrapoda
Order: Temnospondyli
Family: Dissorophidae
Clade: Eucacopinae
Genus: Zygosaurus
Eichwald, 1848
Type species
Zygosaurus lucius
Eichwald, 1848

Zygosaurus is an extinct genus of dissorophid temnospondyl from the Middle-Late Permian of Russia. It was described in 1848 by Eduard Eichwald, making it the first dissorophid to be described and is known from a single species, Zygosaurus lucius.[1] The location of the holotype, and only known specimen, is unknown,[2] and although casts are reposited in several institutions, little is known about this taxon beyond qualitative aspects of the skull (e.g., preorbital length twice as long as postorbital length; skull width greatest at mid-length of orbits).[3] The skull was estimated to be around 20 cm in length, making it one of the largest dissorophids, being only slightly smaller than Kamacops.[2]

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