<Li> Theropods: dinosaurs that first evolved in the Triassic period but did not evolve into large sizes until the Jurassic . Most Triassic theropods, such as the Coelophysis, were only around 1--2 meters long and hunted small prey in the shadow of the giant Rauisuchians . </Li> <Li> Cynodonts, a large group that includes true mammals . The first cynodonts evolved in the Permian, but many groups prospered during the Triassic . Their characteristic mammalian features included hair, a large brain, and upright posture . Many were small but several forms were enormous and filled a large herbivore niche before the evolution of sauropodomorph dinosaurs, as well as large - sized carnivorous niches . </Li> <P> The Permian--Triassic extinction devastated terrestrial life . Biodiversity rebounded as the surviving species repopulated empty terrain, but these were short - lived . Diverse communities with complex food - web structures took 30 million years to reestablish . </P> <P> Temnospondyl amphibians were among those groups that survived the Permian--Triassic extinction; some lineages (e.g. trematosaurs) flourished briefly in the Early Triassic, while others (e.g. capitosaurs) remained successful throughout the whole period, or only came to prominence in the Late Triassic (e.g. plagiosaurs, metoposaurs). As for other amphibians, the first Lissamphibia, progenitors of first frogs, are known from the Early Triassic, but the group as a whole did not become common until the Jurassic, when the temnospondyls had become very rare . Other survivors the Chroniosuchia and Embolomeri were more closely related to amniotes than temnospondyls . Those became extinct after some million years . </P>

Where have fossils from the triassic period been found