Deltasaurus

Deltasaurus Temporal range: Triassic
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Temnospondyli
Family:	Rhytidosteidae
Genus:	Deltasaurus Cosgriff, 1965
Species
D. kimberleyensis D. pustulatus

Deltasaurus is an extinct genus of Carnian temnospondyl amphibian of the Rhytidosteidae family.

It is the most common animal fossil of the Blina Shale, a fossil deposit at the eastern end of the Erskine Range in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. A specimen has also been collected from the Knocklofty Sandstone deposit in Tasmania.

One species of Deltasaurus, D. kimberleyensis, grew to around 90 centimetres in length. It had four limbs and a tail, and numerous tiny teeth. It is thought to have been a predator of fish.

References

• Warren, Anne (1987). "An Ancient Amphibian from Western Australia". In Hand, Suzanne and Michael Archer. The Antipodean Ark. Angus & Robertson. ISBN 0 207 15664 6. 

Further reading

• Cosgriff, J. W. (1965). "A new genus of Temnospondyli from the Triassic of Western Australia". Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Western Australia 48: 65–90. 

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