It is solely known from the
holotype specimen, which consists of a nearly complete skull with mandible and postcrania were found within the Westgrove Ironstone Member of the
Evergreen Formation of the
Surat Basin in
Queensland.[1] Dating to the late
Toarcian at approximately 176.6 ma.[2]Siderops was large, with a
skull width 70 cm (28 in) wide and a total length of 2.6–2.7 m (8.5–8.9 ft).[3][4]
Classification
Siderops belongs to the clade
Brachyopomorpha, a subdivision of the greater clade
Temnospondyl and placed in the superfamily
Brachyopoidea and belonging in the
Chigutisauridae family.[1] Shown below is a cladogram of Brachyopoidea adapted from Warren et al. (1983) and Ruta et al. (2007).[1][5]
^Todd, Christopher N.; Roberts, Eric M.; Knutsen, Espen M.; Rozefelds, Andrew C.; Huang, Hui-Qing; Spandler, Carl (December 2019). "Refined age and geological context of two of Australia's most important Jurassic vertebrate taxa (Rhoetosaurus brownei and Siderops kehli), Queensland". Gondwana Research. 76: 19–25.
Bibcode:
2019GondR..76...19T.
doi:
10.1016/j.gr.2019.05.008.
S2CID199105458.