Brachyopomorpha

Brachyopomorpha; Temporal range: Early Triassic - Middle Cretaceous, 252.3–120 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
	Pelorocephalus tenax
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Order:	†Temnospondyli
Suborder:	†Stereospondyli
Clade:	†Trematosauria
Clade:	†Brachyopomorpha; Warren and Marsicano, 2000
Genera and superfamilies
	†Bothriceps; †Keratobrachyops; †Brachyopoidea;

Brachyopomorpha is a clade of stereospondyl temnospondyls within the infraorder Trematosauria. It was constructed in 2000 to include Bothriceps australis and the superfamily Brachyopoidea.^[1] It is phylogenetically defined as a stem-based taxon including Pelorocephalus and all taxa closer to it than to Rhytidosteus. In contrast, Brachyopoidea is defined as a node-based taxon including Brachyops and Pelorocephalus and all descendants of their most recent common ancestor. Because Bothriceps is not thought to be a descendant of that recent common ancestor and would be more basal than it, the genus is placed just outside Brachyopoidea and is considered to be a sister taxon to the clade.^[1]^[2]

Cladogram of Brachyopomorpha

Brachyopomorpha

	Bothriceps

	Keratobrachyops

Brachyopoidea

	Brachyopidae

	Chigutisauridae

Damiani and Kitching, 2003^[3]

Bothriceps was once considered to be a brachyopid within Brachyopoidea, but is now placed on the brachyopoid stem closer to Brachyopoidea than to Rhytidosteidae due to the presence of several plesiomorphies (ancestral characters). The probable presence of a tabular horn in Bothriceps also suggests that it is a basal brachyopomorph rather than a brachyopid.^[1]

Keratobrachyops, once assigned to Chigutisauridae, is now thought to be a basal brachyopomorph closely related to Bothriceps.^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Warren, A.; Marsicano, C. (2000). "A phylogeny of the Brachyopoidea". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 20 (3): 462–483. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2000)020[0462:APOTBT]2.0.CO;2. hdl:11336/93649.
^ Yates, A. M.; Warren, A. A. (2000). "The phylogeny of the "higher temnospondyls" (Vertebrata, Choanata)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 128: 77–121. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2000.tb00650.x.
^ ^a ^b Damiani, R. J.; Kitching, J. W. (2003). "A new brachyopid temnospondyl from the Cynognathus Assemblage Zone, Upper Beaufort Group, South Africa". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 23 (1): 67–78. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2003)23[67:ANBTFT]2.0.CO;2.