Deltasaurus kimberleyensis

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

Deltasaurus kimberleyensis was a 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.

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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