Note:
Phylogeny of basal tetrapods [amphibians] is quite murky. This murkiness focuses greatly in the question of the origin and relationships of modern amphibians (Lissamphibia).
Carroll (1988) presents view that modern amphibians [Lissamphibia] is a polyphyletic group, gymnophionas and salamanders being advanced microsaurs and frogs being advanced temnospondyls. Milner (1994) in the other hand, presents a view of monophyletic Lissamphibia, which sistergroup are plagiosaur-dissorophoids. Laurin & Reisz (1997) support view, in which lissamphibians belong to reptiliomorphs. Yates & Warren (2000) present a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of Temnospondyli, but it didn't include lissamphibians.
More recently Anderson et al. (2008), while describing a new Amphibamid temnospondyl, and after running a phylogenetic analysis, came to a conclusion, that the Batrachia (i.e. frogs and salamanders where close relatives of this new amphibamid and thus belonged to the temnospondylian amphibians. In the same analysis they also found that gymnophiones share a most recent ancester with microsaurs of the lepospondylian amphibians. Based on their new phylogeny they resurrected Carroll's idea of polyphyletic origin of Lissamphibia.
After Clack, 2002
Alternative phylogeny of basal Tetrapoda after Carroll (1988), Milner (1994) and Clack (1998)
Alternative phylogeny of basal Tetrapoda after Laurin, 1996-2001 [“The Tree of Life”]
<==o Stegocephali Cope, 1868 sensu Laurin, 1998a [Tetrapoda Haworth, 1825 sensu Goodrich 1930 and Laurin & Reisz, 1997; Tetrapodamorpha Ahlberg, 1991] (tetrapods = vertebrates with four recognizible limbs; maaselkärankaiset) |?- †Umzantsia amazana Gess & Ahlberg, 2018; L.Dev. SAf. |--o †Elginerpentonidae Ahlberg, 1995 | |-- †Elginerpeton pancheni Ahlberg, 1995 | `-- †Obruchevichthys gracilis Vorobyeva, 1977 `--+?- †Densignathus rowei Daeschler, 2000 |?- †Tutusius umlambo Gess & Ahlberg, 2018; L.Dev. SAf. |--+?- †Metaxygnathus denticulus Campbell & Bell, 1977 | |?- †Jakubsonia livnensis Lebedev, 2004 | `-- †Ventastega curonica Ahlberg, Luksevics & Lebedev, 1994 [Panderichthys bystrovi Gross, 1941, in partim] `--+?- †Sinostega pani Zhu, Ahlberg, Zhao & Jia, 2002 |-- †Acanthostega gunnari Säve-Söderbergh [Acanthostegidae] `--+--o †Ichthyostegidae Jarvik, 1952 | |-- †Ichthyostegidae gen. et sp. indet. [U. Dev. WEu. (Belgium)] [Clément et al., 2004] | `--o †Ichthyostega Säve-Söderbergh, 1932 [taxonomic history] | |-- †I. stensioi Säve-Söderbergh, 1932 Säve-Söderbergh, 1932 [taxonomic history] | |-- †I. eigili Säve-Söderbergh, 1932 [taxonomic history] | `-- †I. watsoni Säve-Söderbergh, 1932 [taxonomic history] `--+-- †Hynerpeton bassetti Daeschler, Shubin, Thomson & Amaral, 1994 `--+--o †Whatcheeriidae Clack, 2002 | |-- †Whatcheeria deltae Lombard & Bolt, 1995 | `-- †Pederpes finneyae Clack, 2002 `--+-- †Crassigyrinus scoticus [Crassigyrinidae] `--+-- †Eoherpeton watsoni Panchen, 1975 [Pholidogaster pisciformis Watson, 1929] [Eoherpetontidae] `--+-- †Emblomeri Cope, 1884 (sensu stricto?) `--+-- †Gephyrostegida Jaekel, 1911 sensu Carroll et al., 1972 `--o Tetrapoda sensu stricto? [the last common ancestor of modern amphibians and amniotes] |--+-- †Westlothiana lizziae Smithson & Rolfe, 1990 | `-- Lepospondyli [incl. Gymnophiona sensu Anderson et al., 2008] `--+-- †Reptiliomorpha?? (vesikalvollismaiset tetrapodit; amniote-like tetrapods) `--+-- Temnospondyli Zittel, 1888 sensu Laurin & Reisz, 1997 [incl. Batrachia sensu Anderson et al., 2008] `--+-- †Colosteoidea `-- †Baphetoidea [Loxommotoidea]
Stegocephali incertae sedis:
†Antlerpeton clarkii Thomson, Shubin & Poole, 1998 †Sigournea multidentata Bolt & Lombard, 2006 †Occidens portlocki Clack & Ahlberg, 2004
After Danto, Witzmann & Müller, 2012<==+-- †Acanthostega |--+-- †Ventastega | `--+-- †Panderichthys | `-- †Eusthenopteron `--+-- †Ichthyostega `--+-- †Tulerpeton `--+--+-- †Greererpeton | `-- †Colosteus `--+-- †Crassigyrinus `--+-- †Whatcheeria `--+-- †Baphetoidea `--o Tetrapoda |--o Batrachomorpha | `-- Temnospondyli [incl. Lissamphibia] `--o Reptiliomorpha |-- †Emblomeri `--+== †Gephyrostegida `==o †Seymouriamorpha |-- †Discosauriscidae `--+-- †Seymouriidae `--+-- †Kotlassiidae `--+--+-- †Westlothiana | `--+-- †Solenodonsaurus | `-- †Lepospondyli `--o Cotylosauria |-- †Diadectomorpha `-- Amniota Reference(s):
|
After Laurin, 1996-2001 ["The Tree of Life"]<==o Stegocephali |--o †Elginerpentonidae | |-- †Elginerpeton | `-- †Obruchevichthys `--+?- †Densignathus |--+?- †Metaxygnathus | `-- †Ventastega `--+-- †Acanthostega `--+-- †Ichthyostega `--+-- †Hynerpeton `--+--o †Whatcheeriidae | |-- †Ossinodus | `--+-- †Whatcheeria | `-- †Pederpes |-- †Crassigyrinus `--+-- †Baphetoidea `--o Tetrapoda sensu stricto |-- Temnospondyli `-- Reptiliomorpha |
After Carroll, 1988, Milner, 1994, and Clack, 1998<==o Tetrapoda |--o †Elginerpentonidae | |-- †Elginerpeton | `-- †Obruchevichthys `--+?- †Densignathus |--+?- †Metaxygnathus | `-- †Ventastega `--+-- †Acanthostega `--+-- †Ichthyostega `--+-- †Hynerpeton |?- †Antlerpeton `--+?-+?-o †Adelogyrinidae | | |-- †Adelogyrinus | | |-- †Adelospondylus | | |-- †Dolichopareias | | `-- †Palaeomolgophis | |?- †Acherontiscus | `?- †Aistopoda `--+?-o †Whatcheeriidae | |-- †Ossinodus | `--+-- †Whatcheeria | `-- †Pederpes |?- †Nectridae `--o Tetrapoda sensu stricto |-- Batrachomorpha `--+-- †Baphetoidea `-- Reptiliomorpha |
Reference(s):
- Ahlberg, P. E., 1995: Elginerpeton pancheni and the earliest tetrapod clade.
–Nature: Vol. 373, pp. 420-425 [doi: 10.1038/373420a0] - Ahlberg, P. E., Clack, J. A. & Lukésevics, E. 1996: Rapib braincase evolution between Panderichthyes and the earliest tetrapods.
–Nature: vol. 381, 2 May, pp. 61-64. - Ahlberg, P. E. & Milner, A. R. 1994: The origin and early diversification of tetrapods.
–Nature: vol. 368, 7 April, pp. 507-514. - Anderson, J. S. 1998: Phylogenetic analysis of the Lepospondyli (Tetrapoda).
–Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Vol. 18, #3, Suppl. to #3, pp. 24A - Anderson, J. S., Reisz, R. R., Scott, D. M., Fröbisch, N. B. & Sumida, S. S., 2008: A stem Batrachian from the early Permian of texas and the origin of frog and salamanders.
–Nature: Vol. 453, pp. 515-518 [doi: 10.1038/nature06865] - Blom, H., 2005: Taxonomic revision of the Late Devonian tetrapod Ichthyostega from East Greenland.
–Palaeontology: Vol. 48, #1, pp. 111-135 [from abstract] - Bolt, J. R. & Lombard, E., 2006: Sigournea multidentata, a new stem tetrapod from the Upper Mississippian of Iowa, USA.
–Journal of Paleontology: Vol. 80, #2, pp. 717-725 - Carroll, R. L., 1988: Vertebrate paleontology and evolution.
–W. H. Freeman and company, New York, 1988, 698. - Carroll, R. L., 1988: Appendix. 594-648.
in Carroll, R. L., 1988: Vertebrate paleontology and evolution.
–W. H. Freeman and company, New York, 1988, 698. - Carroll, R. L. 1996: Revealing the patterns of macroevolution.
–Nature: vol. 381, 2 May, pp. 19-20. - Carroll, R. L., 2001: The origin and early radiation of terrestrial vertebrates.
–Journal of Paleontology: Vol. 75, #6, pp. 1202-1213 - Clack, J. A., 1998: The neurocranium of Acanthostega gunnari Jarvik and the evolution of the otic region in tetrapods.
–Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society: Vol. 122, #1, pp. 61-97 - Clack, J. A., 1998: A new Early Carboniferous tetrapod with a mélange of crown-group characters.
–Nature: vol. 394, 2 July, pp. 66 - 69 - Clack, J. A., 2002: An early tetrapod from “Romer's Gap”.
–Nature: Vol. 418, pp. 72-76 - Clément, G., Ahlberg, P. E., Blieck, A. R. M., Blom, H., Clack, J. A., Poty, E., Thorez, J. & Janvier, P., 2004: Devonian tetrapod from western Europe.
–Nature: Vol. 427, pp. 412-413 - Daeschler, E. B., 2000: Early tetrapod jaws from the Late Devonian of Pennsylvania, USA.
–Journal of Paleontology: Vol. 74, #2, pp. 301-308 - Danto, M., Witzmann, F. & Müller, J., 2012: Redescription and phylogenetic relationships of Solenodonsaurus janenschi Broili, 1924, from the Late Carboniferous of Nırany, Czech Republic.
–Fossil Record: Vol. 15, #2, pp. (45-59) [doi: 10.1002/mmng.201200003] - Gess, R. & Ahlberg, P. E., 2018: A tetrapod fauna from within the Devonian Antarctic Circle.
–Science: Vol. 360, #6393, pp. 1120-1124 [doi: 10.1126/science.aaq1645] - Laurin, M., 1996-2001: Terrestrial vertebrates - Stegocephalians: Tetrapods and other digit-bearing vertebrates.
–iNet: The Tree of Life: http://tolweb.org/tree - Laurin, M. & Reisz, R. R., 1997: A new perspective on tetrapod phylogeny. 9-59
in Sumida, S. S. & Martin, K. L. M., 1997: Amniote origins: Completing the trasition to Land.
–Academic Press, San Diego, 1997, pp. x-510 - Lebedev, O., 2004: A new tetrapod Jakubsonia livnensis from the Early Famennian (Devonian) of Russia and palaeoecological remarks on the Late Devonian tetrapod habitats.
–Acta Universitatis Latviensis, Series Earth and Environment Sciences: Vol. 679, pp. 79-98 - Milner, A. R., 1994: Late Triassic and Jurassic amphibians: Fossil record and phylogeny. 5-23
in Fraser, N. C. & Sues, H-D. 1994: In the Shadow of the Dinosaurs.
–Cambridge University Press, New York. 1994 - Shubin, N., 1998 [preview]: Evolutionary cut and paste.
–Nature: vol. 394, 2 July, pp. 12-13 - Thomson, K. S., Shubin, N. H. & Poole, F. G., 1998: A problematic early tetrapod from the Missisippian of Nevada.
–Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology: Vol. 18, #2, pp. 315-320 - Zhu, M., Ahlberg, P. E., Zhao, W. & Jia, L., 2002: First Devonian tetrapod from Asia.
–Nature: Vol. 420, pp. 760-761