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temnospondyl

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

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1

noun

Meaning 1

Any of many extinct primitive amphibians (labyrinthodonts) of the order Temnospondyli, from the Carboniferous, Permian and Triassic periods.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: biology, natural-sciences

Examples

  • Experts disagree over whether temnospondyls were ancestral to modern amphibians (frogs, salamanders and caecilians), or whether the whole group died out without leaving descendants.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From translingual Temnospondyli, from Ancient Greek τέμνω (témnō, “I cut”) + σπόνδυλος (spóndulos), Ionic/Attic form of σφόνδυλος (sphóndulos, “vertebra”).