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Description
Prionosuchus plummeri

Amphibians are the most successful of all tetrapods. Today, they are mainly confined to freshwater habitats like swamps, riverbanks, and tributaries. The largest extant amphibian is the endangered Chinese Giant Salamander. Growing up to 5.9ft long and 110lbs, that's massive by today's standards. But during the Paleozoic, they could perhaps grow up to 3-5 times that size.

Description and Familial Aspects:

An ancient group of amphibians known as Temnospondyls was the primary amphibian group that ruled from the Carboniferous to the Late Permian. With some still persisting on into the Mesozoic. However, during the early Permian around 290,000,000 years ago, they reached their apex with a group known as Archegosaurids. Superficially resembling gavialoid crocodilians and reaching sizes of over 10ft. The largest perhaps reaching in excess of 20ft was an animal known as Prionosuchus plummeri.

Discovery and Naming:

In 1948, Brazil's foremost paleontologist Llewellyn Ivor Price described a fossil of an amphibian consisting of an incomplete skull just over a foot and a half long (20in). He named the creature "Prionosuchus" meaning "Saw Crocodile". However, this was just a juvenile estimated at around 5ft long. In 1991, a larger specimen was described consisting of a skull 5.2ft long. Estimates range from 18ft and a ton in weight, with some estimates ranging potentially up to 30ft long and over 2 tons in weight. Either estimate makes this the largest amphibian known.

Evolution:

Despite resembling a crocodilian, Prionosuchus and its kin, the Archegosaurids were fully aquatic amphibians. Analysis of its relatives indicates these animals were fully tied to the water and unable to come on land. Their limbs were reduced in size and they could not support even the lower estimates of their bulk on land. Further studies from 2017 indicate that like most salamander larva or aquatic amphibians like the Axolotl, they'd have external gills and lose them gradually as they mature. However, as a whole, they'd still retain gills. They had far more fish-like physiology than other temnospondyls. Their gills were different from modern-day amphibians given their size. Researchers proposed that they would breathe in a method similar to freshwater fish, namely air-breathing freshwater fish such as the Arapaima of South America.
From studying the surrounding region, we know that Prionosuchus's habitat was a swampy environment with mangrove-like ferns dominating the region. Adult Prionosuchus would have shared this environment with varying species of bony and cartilaginous fish, and other amphibians. Its snout structure indicates this animal hunted fish likely by sweeping its snout through schools of them, its teeth snagging a couple of them similar to a modern gharial. While its limbs were useless in supporting itself on land, it still could probably walk on the bottom of the river. Moreover, its powerful tail would have been used to propel itself through the water and into schools of fish.

Extinction:

By the end of the Cisuralian (~272,000,000 years ago), their swamp habitats dried up and their river systems became more and more barren. Prionosuchus's family would persist for another 20,000,000 years, but with Archegosaurids unable to move on land like their more derived cousins, they would vanish from the earth. Archosaurs assuming their niches after the great dying, and they'd leave behind fossils.
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Never did a Temnospondyl before so, thought I'd mix things up and show a giant temnospondyl y'all! And no, this is not going to be rescued/featured in Past Meets Present. Largely because:

A. This is a fully aquatic animal and I can't rescue it properly for the series.
B. I can't really find much info on its ecosystem other than the environment.

However, I had fun posing this guy and researching the physiology of these creatures.

The study I mentioned is linked here:
Modeling_the_physiology_of_the_aquatic_temnospondy.pdf

This one had no model edits, I just found an animal that looked interesting and thought I'd pose it.

Original model by Demon Hunter:
Prionosuchus (Demon Hunter) | ZT2 Download Library Wiki | Fandom

Description
Prionosuchus plummeri

Amphibians are the most successful of all tetrapods. Today, they are mainly confined to freshwater habitats like swamps, riverbanks, and tributaries. The largest extant amphibian is the endangered Chinese Giant Salamander. Growing up to 5.9ft long and 110lbs, that's massive by today's standards. But during the Paleozoic, they could perhaps grow up to 3-5 times that size.

Description and Familial Aspects:

An ancient group of amphibians known as Temnospondyls was the primary amphibian group that ruled from the Carboniferous to the Late Permian. With some still persisting on into the Mesozoic. However, during the early Permian around 290,000,000 years ago, they reached their apex with a group known as Archegosaurids. Superficially resembling gavialoid crocodilians and reaching sizes of over 10ft. The largest perhaps reaching in excess of 20ft was an animal known as Prionosuchus plummeri.

Discovery and Naming:

In 1948, Brazil's foremost paleontologist Llewellyn Ivor Price described a fossil of an amphibian consisting of an incomplete skull just over a foot and a half long (20in). He named the creature "Prionosuchus" meaning "Saw Crocodile". However, this was just a juvenile estimated at around 5ft long. In 1991, a larger specimen was described consisting of a skull 5.2ft long. Estimates range from 18ft and a ton in weight, with some estimates ranging potentially up to 30ft long and over 2 tons in weight. Either estimate makes this the largest amphibian known.

Evolution:

Despite resembling a crocodilian, Prionosuchus and its kin, the Archegosaurids were fully aquatic amphibians. Analysis of its relatives indicates these animals were fully tied to the water and unable to come on land. Their limbs were reduced in size and they could not support even the lower estimates of their bulk on land. Further studies from 2017 indicate that like most salamander larva or aquatic amphibians like the Axolotl, they'd have external gills and lose them gradually as they mature. However, as a whole, they'd still retain gills. They had far more fish-like physiology than other temnospondyls. Their gills were different from modern-day amphibians given their size. Researchers proposed that they would breathe in a method similar to freshwater fish, namely air-breathing freshwater fish such as the Arapaima of South America.
From studying the surrounding region, we know that Prionosuchus's habitat was a swampy environment with mangrove-like ferns dominating the region. Adult Prionosuchus would have shared this environment with varying species of bony and cartilaginous fish, and other amphibians. Its snout structure indicates this animal hunted fish likely by sweeping its snout through schools of them, its teeth snagging a couple of them similar to a modern gharial. While its limbs were useless in supporting itself on land, it still could probably walk on the bottom of the river. Moreover, its powerful tail would have been used to propel itself through the water and into schools of fish.

Extinction:

By the end of the Cisuralian (~272,000,000 years ago), their swamp habitats dried up and their river systems became more and more barren. Prionosuchus's family would persist for another 20,000,000 years, but with Archegosaurids unable to move on land like their more derived cousins, they would vanish from the earth. Archosaurs assuming their niches after the great dying, and they'd leave behind fossils.
___________________________________________________________________________________________

Never did a Temnospondyl before so, thought I'd mix things up and show a giant temnospondyl y'all! And no, this is not going to be rescued/featured in Past Meets Present. Largely because:

A. This is a fully aquatic animal and I can't rescue it properly for the series.
B. I can't really find much info on its ecosystem other than the environment.

However, I had fun posing this guy and researching the physiology of these creatures.

The study I mentioned is linked here:
Modeling_the_physiology_of_the_aquatic_temnospondy.pdf

This one had no model edits, I just found an animal that looked interesting and thought I'd pose it.

Original model by Demon Hunter:
Prionosuchus (Demon Hunter) | ZT2 Download Library Wiki | Fandom