Megalophthalma

{{Short description|Extinct genus of amphibians}} {{Automatic taxobox | taxon = Megalophthalma | fossil_range = [[Middle Triassic]] | authority = Schoch ''et al.'', [[2014 in paleontology|2014]] | type_species = {{extinct}}'''''Megalophthalma ockerti''''' | type_species_authority = Schoch ''et al.'', 2014 }}

'''''Megalophthalma''''' (meaning "large eye" from the [[Greek language|Greek]] ''megale'' ["large"] and ''ophthalmós'' ["eye"]) is an extinct [[genus]] of [[temnospondyl]] amphibian belonging to the [[Family (taxonomy)|family]] [[Plagiosauridae]]. It is represented by the single [[type species]] '''''Megalophthalma ockerti''''' from the [[Middle Triassic]] [[Erfurt Formation]] in southern Germany, which is itself based on a single partial skull and a fragment of the lower jaw. ''Megalophthalma'' is distinguished from other temnospondyls by its very large [[orbit (anatomy)|orbits]] or eye sockets, which occupy most of the skull and are bordered by thin struts of bone. Like those of most plagiosaurids, the skull flat, wide, and roughly triangular. The orbits are pentagon-shaped. The bones at the back of the skull (the [[occiput]]) are highly modified and show similarities with those of the plagiosaurid ''[[Plagiosternum]]''. Both ''Megalophthalma'' and ''Plagiosternum'' lack [[prefrontal bone|prefrontal]] and [[postfrontal bone]]s. In fact, ''Megalophthalma'' and ''Plagiosternum'' are thought to form their own [[clade]] or evolutionary grouping within Plagiosauridae called Plagiosterninae. In overall form ''Megalophthalma'' and ''Plagiosternum'' are intermediate between the [[basal (phylogenetics)|basal]] plagiosaurid ''[[Plagiosuchus]]'' (which more closely resembles non-plagiosaurid temnospondyls) and the [[Synapomorphy|derived]] ''[[Gerrothorax]]'' (which has an even more highly modified skull than plagiosternines).<ref name=SMW14>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1111/pala.12101| title = Skull morphology and phylogenetic relationships of a new Middle Triassic plagiosaurid temnospondyl from Germany, and the evolution of plagiosaurid eyes| journal = Palaeontology| pages = 1045–1058| year = 2014| last1 = Schoch | first1 = R. R. | last2 = Milner | first2 = A. R. | last3 = Witzmann | first3 = F. | volume=57| doi-access = free}}</ref> [[File:Megalophthalma.png|thumb|Life restoration in shallow water]]

The authors who originally described ''Megalophthalma'' hypothesized that it and other plagiosaurids had eyes that were much smaller than the orbits. Most reconstructions of plagiosaurids, particularly those of ''Gerrothorax'', show them having flattened eyes that fill up most of the orbits. However, a flattened eye is extremely unlikely because the lens would be too close to the [[retina]] to focus an image. ''Megalophthalma'' and other plagiosaurids more likely had spherical eyes like those of modern amphibians. The skull of ''Megalophthalma'' is too shallow for a spherical eye the width of the orbit to fit within it, so the eye was probably much smaller, perhaps less than {{convert|1|cm|in}} in diameter. The eye was probably positioned near the front of the orbit as in modern small-eyed amphibians like [[cryptobranchid]] salamanders and [[pipid]] frogs. Another possibility, although far less likely, is that ''Megalophthalma'' and other plagiosaurids had eyes similar to those of the living deep-sea fish ''[[Ipnops]]'', which are reduced to sheet-like retina that cover the upper surface of the skull and are only able to detect movement from shadows. Like ''Ipnops'', plagiosaurids are hypothesized to have rested on the bottom of bodies of water and ambushed prey that swam above them. However, ''Ipnops'' and plagiosaurids are very distantly related, making it unlikely that lensless eyes evolved in ''Megalophthalma''.<ref name=SMW14/>

==References== {{Reflist}}

[[Category:Triassic temnospondyls]] [[Category:Triassic temnospondyls of Europe]] [[Category:Plagiosauridae]]