Editing Caudata (section)

{{Short description|Clade of amphibians}}
{{Distinguish|Caudate (disambiguation)|Cordate (disambiguation)|Cordata (disambiguation)}}
{{Distinguish|Chordata|text=the phylum [[Chordata]]}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Caudates
| fossil_range = {{geological range|237|0}}[[Middle Triassic]] – [[Holocene|Present]]
| image = Karaurus sharovi.JPG
| image_caption = Fossil of the salamander ''[[Karaurus sharovi]]'' a non-urodelan caudatan from the Middle-Late Jurassic belonging to the family [[Karauridae]]
| taxon = Caudata
| authority = [[Giovanni Antonio Scopoli|Scopoli]], 1777
| subdivision_ranks = Subgroups
| subdivision = *[[Urodela]]
*{{extinct}}''[[Egoria]]''
*{{extinct}}[[Karauridae]]
*{{extinct}}''[[Kulgeriherpeton]]''
*{{extinct}}''[[Triassurus]]''
*{{extinct}}''[[Urupia]]''
*{{extinct}}[[Batrachosauroididae]](?)
}}

The '''Caudata''' are a group of [[amphibian]]s containing the extant [[salamander]]s (the [[Order (biology)|order]] Urodela) and all extinct species of amphibians more closely related to salamanders than to frogs. They are typically characterized by a superficially [[lizard]]-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults.

Disagreement exists between different authorities as to the definition of the terms "Caudata" and "Urodela". Some maintain that Urodela should be restricted to the [[crown group]], with Caudata being used for the [[total group]]. Others restrict the name Caudata to the crown group and use Urodela for the total group. The former approach seems to be most widely adopted and is used in this article.<ref name="Naish2013">{{cite news |author=Naish, Darren |date=2013-10-01 |title=The amazing world of salamanders |url=http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/2013/10/01/amazing-world-of-salamanders/ |access-date=2014-01-14 |newspaper=Scientific American}}</ref>