Name: Kryostega
(Frozen roof).
Phonetic: Kry-o-steg-ah.
Named By: C. A. Sidor, R. Damiani &
W. R. Hammer - 2008.
Classification: Chordata, Amphibia,
Temnospondyli, Stereospondyli.
Species: K. collinssoni
(type).
Diet: Carnivore/Piscivore.
Size: Preserved portion of the skull 27
centimetres long by 21 centimetres wide. Reconstructed skull
length estimated at 1 meter. Total body size extrapolated from
the reconstructed skull length estimated at about 4.5 meters.
Known locations: Antarctica, Transantarctic
Mountains - Fremouw Formation.
Time period: Olenekian of the Triassic.
Fossil representation: Partial skull.
Kryostega is one of the growing number of temnospondyl amphibians that are now known from Antarctica. With a reconstructed body length estimated to be about four and a half meters long, Kryostega is so far one of the largest temnospondyl amphibians known to have lived in Antarctica during the Early Triassic, and a candidate for being a key apex predator here at that time. Possible prey animals for Kryostega would include anything from fish and other temnospondyl amphibians, to possibly even land creatures such as cynodonts and other therapsids.
Further reading
- A new Triassic temnospondyl from Antarctica and a review of Fremouw
Formation biostratigraphy. - Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology
28(3):656-663. - C. A. Sidor, R. Damiani &
W. R. Hammer - 2008.