The morphology of the temporal region in the tetrapod skull traditionally has been a widely discussed feature of vertebrate anatomy. The evolution of different temporal openings in Amniota (mammals, birds, and reptiles), Lissamphibia (frogs, salamanders, and caecilians), and several extinct tetrapod groups has sparked debates on the phylogenetic, developmental, and functional background of this region in the tetrapod skull. This led most famously to the erection of different amniote taxa based on the number and position of temporal fenestrae in their skulls. However, most of these taxa are no longer recognised to represent natural groupings and the morphology of the temporal region is not necessarily an adequate trait for use in the reconstruction of amniote phylogenies. Yet, new fossil finds, most notably of parareptiles and stem-turtles, as well as modern embryological and biomechanical studies continue to provide new insights into the morphological diversity of the temporal region. Here, we introduce a novel comprehensive classification scheme for the various temporal morphotypes in all Tetrapoda that is independent of phylogeny and previous terminology and may facilitate morphological comparisons in future studies. We then review the history of research on the temporal region in the tetrapod skull. We document how, from the early 19th century with the first recognition of differences in the temporal region to the first proposals of phylogenetic relationships and their assessment over the centuries, the phylogenetic perspective on the temporal region has developed, and we highlight the controversies that still remain. We also compare the different functional and developmental drivers proposed for the observed morphological diversity and how the effects of internal and external factors on the structure of the tetrapod skull have been interpreted.

中文翻译：

---

四足动物颞骨区域的形态学：研究历史、功能解释和新的综合分类方案

四足动物头骨颞区的形态传统上一直是脊椎动物解剖学的一个广泛讨论的特征。Amniota（哺乳动物、鸟类和爬行动物）、Lissamphibia（青蛙、蝾螈和caecilians）和几个已灭绝的四足动物群中不同时间开口的进化引发了关于该区域在四足动物中的系统发育、发育和功能背景的争论颅骨。这导致了最著名的根据它们头骨中颞孔的数量和位置建立了不同的羊膜分类群。然而，这些分类群中的大多数不再被认为代表自然分组，并且时间区域的形态不一定是用于重建羊膜系统发育的充分特征。然而，新的化石发现，尤其是副爬行动物和干龟，以及现代胚胎学和生物力学研究继续为时间区域的形态多样性提供新的见解。在这里，我们为所有四足动物中的各种时间形态类型引入了一种新的综合分类方案，该方案独立于系统发育和以前的术语，可能有助于未来研究中的形态比较。然后我们回顾了四足动物头骨颞区的研究历史。我们记录了从 19 世纪早期第一次认识到时间区域的差异到几个世纪以来系统发育关系的第一个提议及其评估，时间区域的系统发育观点是如何发展的，我们强调了仍然存在的争议保持。