Peltobatrachus

Peltobatrachus (from Greek pelte, meaning shield and batrakhos, meaning frog) is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibian from the late Permian period of Tanzania.

Peltobatrachus Temporal range: Late Permian, 260.4–251 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Peltobatrachus pustulatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Order:	†Temnospondyli
Suborder:	†Stereospondyli
Family:	†Peltobatrachidae
Genus:	†Peltobatrachus Panchen, 1959

Description

Peltobatrachus was a large, slow moving animal, up to 70 centimetres (2.3 ft) in length. It was a fully terrestrial amphibian, only returning to the water to lay its eggs.[1]

To protect itself against predators such as the large gorgonopsid therapsids, it had developed an armadillo-like armored plating covering its body and tail. The armor consisted of broad plates on the shoulders and hips and narrower plates on the rest of the body. Although no teeth of the creature have been found, it probably fed on insects, worms, and snails.[1]

References

1. Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 52. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.

Further reading

• Ruta, Marcello; Pisani, Davide; Lloyd, Graeme T; Benton, Michael J (2007). "A supertree of Temnospondyli: Cladogenetic patterns in the most species-rich group of early tetrapods". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 274 (1629): 3087–3095. doi:10.1098/rspb.2007.1250. PMC 2293949. PMID 17925278.