The earliest amphibians on earth (labyrinths)

Labyrinths are the earliest terrestrial vertebrates to appear on earth. They flourished in the Carboniferous and Permian periods, and a few species continued into the Triassic period. Its cone-shaped teeth have a labyrinth structure in cross-section, hence its name. The skull is composed of hard and thick bone fragments, so it is also called a tetany. Compared with lobe-finned fish, the skull is flat, the bone fragments are reduced, the tongue and jaw retract into the middle ear to form the stapes, and it has an auditory recess. In addition, most of them have thick scales on their bodies.

In the era when labyrinths flourished, such animals were found everywhere in swamps, rivers and lakes on the earth. During the late Paleozoic and Triassic periods, they were found on all of Earth's continents.

The labyrinths are divided into three orders: Ichthyoshondales, Phyllozoans, and Carbonariales.

The Urumqi salamander found near Urumqi, Xinjiang, my country, is a member of the order Carbonarial Salamander and the suborder Saurodera that evolved into reptiles in the late Paleozoic Era.

The salamander in the suborder Saurodera is a special kind of amphibian. It can be seen that it has some characteristics of amphibians and some of reptiles. This phenomenon provides strong evidence that reptiles originated from amphibians.

Labyrinth structure of labyrinth teeth

animal tags： Amphibians Labyrinths Ichthyosauroids Phyllozoans