Odenwaldia

Odenwaldia is an extinct genus of mastodonsauroid temnospondyl within the family Heylerosauridae.^[1]

Odenwaldia
Fossil of Odenwaldia heidelbergensis in Heidelberg University
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Temnospondyli
Suborder:	Stereospondyli
Superfamily:	Mastodonsauroidea
Family:	Heylerosauridae
Genus:	Odenwaldia

History of study

Odenwaldia is only known from one species, O. heidelbergensis, and was named by Morales & Kamphausen (1984).^[2] The holotype, a skull roof and counterpiece cast, were collected from the Middle Bundsandstein (Oberes Konglomerat) near Heidelberg, Germany and were first described by Wilhelm Simon in 1961, who thought that the specimen belonged to the trematosaur Trematosaurus.^[3] It was then redescribed by Schoch (2008).^[4]

Description

The holotype is the only uncontroversial specimen of this taxon, although others have been referred to the species.^[5] Odenwaldia is diagnosed by several autapomorphies, including (1) small orbits combined with broad interorbital distance; (2) preorbital region slender, with nasals and lacrimals narrower than frontals; and (3) dermal ornament consists of small, similarly sized polygons, but no elongated ridges.^[5] In contrast to most other capitosaurs, it has a laterally extensive postorbital and a contact between the prefrontal and the postfrontal.

Classification

Morales and Kamphausen originally proposed that Odenwaldia represented an intermediary form between Benthosuchus and Eocyclotosaurus, but this was in part based on the outdated concept of Capitosauria (Benthosuchus is now regarded as a trematosaur) and did not involve a phylogenetic analysis. Subsequent phylogenetic analyses recover Odenwaldia securely within Capitosauria and perhaps within Capitosauroidea specifically, as an early diverging taxon in either instance.

Below is the phylogeny of Fortuny et al. (2011):^[6]

Lydekkerina huxleyi Rhinesuchidae Rhineceps nyasaensis Uranocentrodon senekalensis Capitosauria Wetlugasaurus angustifrons Odenwaldia heidelbergensis Vladlenosaurus alexeyevi Edingerella madagascariensis Watsonisuchus spp. Xenotosuchus africanus Cherninia denwai Paracyclotosaurus crookshanki Stanocephalosaurus pronus Stanocephalosaurus birdi Procyclotosaurus stantonensis Eocyclotosaurus spp. Quasicyclotosaurus campi Parotosuchus orenburgensis Calmasuchus acri Cyclotosaurus robustus Tatrasuchus wildi Eryosuchus garjainovi Mastodonsaurus giganteus Trematosauria Benthosuchus sushkini Trematosauroidea Thoosuchus yakovlevi Angusaurus spp. Trematosaurus brauni

See also

• Paleontology portal

• Prehistoric amphibian
• List of prehistoric amphibians

References

1. Damiani, R.J. (2001) A systematic revision and phylogenetic analysis of Triassic mastodonsauroids (Temnospondyli: Stereospondyli). Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 133: 379-482.
2. Morales, Michael; Kamphausen, Donat (1984-12-07). "Odenwaldia heidelbergensis, a new Benthosuchid Stegocephalian from the Middle Buntsandstein of the Odenwald, Germany". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Monatshefte. 1984 (11): 673–683. doi:10.1127/njgpm/1984/1984/673. ISSN 0028-3630.
3. Simon, Wilhelm (1961). "Ein Riesenlurch aus dem Odenwald: Fundbericht von Waldkatzenbach am Katzenbuckel". Der Aufschluß. 12: 128–130.
4. Schoch, Rainer R. (2008-12-30). "The Capitosauria (Amphibia): characters, phylogeny, and stratigraphy" (PDF). Palaeodiversity. 1: 189–226.
5. Schoch, Rainer R. (2011-07-01). "How diverse is the temnospondyl fauna in the Lower Triassic of southern Germany?". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen. 261 (1): 49–60. doi:10.1127/0077-7749/2011/0147. ISSN 0077-7749.
6. Fortuny, Josep; Galobart, Àngel; Santisteban, Carles De (2011). "A New Capitosaur from the Middle Triassic of Spain and the Relationships within the Capitosauria". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 56 (3): 553–566. doi:10.4202/app.2010.0025. ISSN 0567-7920.