ˌbraŋkēəˈsȯrəs noun
Usage: capitalized
Etymology: New Latin, from branchi- + -saurus
: a group of small fossil amphibians like salamanders from the Permian of Europe formerly regarded as constituting a separate order or suborder but now usually held to be larvae of typical rhachitomous labyrinthodont amphibians — used originally as a generic name and still commonly as though it were a generic name