temnospondyl

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noun

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

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

Origintranslingual Temnospondyli ← Ancient Greek τέμνω →
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Meanings

nountemnospondyl (plural temnospondyls)

plural temnospondyls

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

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

    1 more example

    Nigerpeton is a temnospondyl, more closely related to modern amphibians than to amniotes, but far bigger than today's diminutive amphibians.

    2022, Thomas Halliday, Otherlands, Penguin, published 2023, page 178

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekτέμνω“I cut”
  2. translingualTemnospondyli
  3. Englishtemnospondyl

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

More words from translingual, Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

temnospondyl. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/temnospondyl

MLA

“temnospondyl.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/temnospondyl. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “temnospondyl,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/temnospondyl.

Source: temnospondyl on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.