Page "Amphibian" Paragraph 9

During the Triassic Period (), the reptiles began to out-compete the amphibians, leading to a reduction in both the amphibians ' size and their importance in the biosphere.

According to the fossil record, Lissamphibia, which includes all modern amphibians and is the only surviving lineage, may have branched off from the extinct groups Temnospondyli and Lepospondyli at some period between the Late Carboniferous and the Early Triassic.

The relative scarcity of fossil evidence prevents precise dating, but the most recent molecular study, based on multilocus sequence typing, suggest a Late Carboniferous – Early Permian origin of extant amphibians.