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Aistopoda
Aistopoda (Greek for " avingnot-visible feet") is an order of highly specialised snake-like stegocephalians known from the Carboniferous and Early Permian of Europe and North America, ranging from tiny forms only , to nearly in length. They first appear in the fossil record in the Mississippian period and continue through to the Early Permian. The skull is small but very specialised, with large orbits, and large fenestrae. The primitive form ''Ophiderpeton'' has a pattern of dermal bones in the skull similar in respects to the temnospondyls. But in the advanced genus ''Phlegethontia'' the skull is very light and open, reduced to a series of struts supporting the braincase against the lower jaw, just as in snakes, and it is possible that the aistopods filled the same ecological niches in the Paleozoic that snakes do today. They had an extremely elongated body, with up to 230 vertebrae. The vertebrae were holospondylous, having only a single ossification per segment. They la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lethiscus
''Lethiscus'' is the earliest known representative of the Aistopoda, a group of very specialised snake-like amphibians known from the early Carboniferous (Mississippian). ''Lethiscus'' is known from only a single specimen from the Holkerian Stage (Middle Viséan) of the Early Carboniferous (Middle Mississippian) of Scotland, and is one of the oldest known post Devonian tetrapods. Despite its very early date, it was already a highly advanced animal. The skull is specialised and light, very like that of ''Ophiderpeton'', with the orbits, far forward, and the cheek region unossified (lacking bone). There are approximately 30 closely spaced teeth on the maxilla and dentary, and a sutural pattern of the skull closely resembles that of the Late Carboniferous aïstopod ''Oestocephalus''. There is no trace of limbs. However, unlike later members of the aïstopod lineage, the vertebrae still possess intercentra, and the pleurocentra are large. ''Lethiscus'' is the only representa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nectridea
Nectridea is the name of an extinct order of lepospondyl tetrapods from the Carboniferous and Permian periods, including animals such as '' Diplocaulus''. In appearance, they would have resembled modern newts or aquatic salamanders, although they are not close relatives of modern amphibians. They were characterized by long, flattened tails to aid in swimming, as well as numerous features of the vertebrae. Description Nectrideans are a diverse group of tetrapods, including the aquatic Urocordylidae, the presumably terrestrial Scincosauridae, and the bizarre horned members of Diplocaulidae (also known as Keraterpetonidae), which includes the "boomerang-headed" ''Diplocaulus'', one of the most famous genera of prehistoric amphibians (in the traditional sense of the word). By the time the earliest known nectrideans appeared in the Late Carboniferous fossil record, they had already diversified into these families, indicating that basal nectrideans are unknown. These different ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phlegethontioidea
Phlegethontioidea is a clade of aistopod amphibians including the families Phlegethontiidae and Pseudophlegethontiidae. It is a stem-based taxon defined in phylogenetic terms as all aistopods sharing a more recent common ancestor with ''Phlegethontia'' than ''Oestocephalus ''Oestocephalus'' is an extinct genus of aïstopod Stegocephalian that lived during the Carboniferous period. Fossils have been found in the Czech Republic, and in Ohio and Illinois in the United States. It is the type genus of the famil ...''. References Carboniferous amphibians Permian amphibians Aistopods {{paleo-amphibian-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pseudophlegethontia
''Pseudophlegethontia'' is an extinct genus of aïstopod stegocephalians. It is the only member of the family Pseudophlegethontiidae. The only species is the type species ''P. turnbullorum'', named in 2003. Fossils of ''Pseudophlegethontia'' have been found from the Mazon Creek fossil beds in Grundy County, Illinois, a '' conservation lagerstätte'' well known for the exceptional preservation of middle Pennsylvanian taxa. ''Pseudophlegethontia'' has been considered to be morphologically intermediate between derived phlegethontiids and more basal "ophiderpetontids" such as ''Ophiderpeton''. It possesses basal characters such as a relatively short body, "k shaped" ribs, and distinctive skull roof bones while also possessing several more derived features such as a pointed snout, thin gastralia, and a lack of dorsal osteoderms. It is usually, but not unanimously, placed as the sister taxon In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pseudophlegethontia Turnbullorum
''Pseudophlegethontia'' is an extinct genus of aïstopod stegocephalians. It is the only member of the family Pseudophlegethontiidae. The only species is the type species ''P. turnbullorum'', named in 2003. Fossils of ''Pseudophlegethontia'' have been found from the Mazon Creek fossil beds in Grundy County, Illinois, a '' conservation lagerstätte'' well known for the exceptional preservation of middle Pennsylvanian taxa. ''Pseudophlegethontia'' has been considered to be morphologically intermediate between derived phlegethontiids and more basal "ophiderpetontids" such as ''Ophiderpeton''. It possesses basal characters such as a relatively short body, "k shaped" ribs, and distinctive skull roof bones while also possessing several more derived features such as a pointed snout, thin gastralia, and a lack of dorsal osteoderms. It is usually, but not unanimously, placed as the sister taxon In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oestocephalus
''Oestocephalus'' is an extinct genus of aïstopod Stegocephalian that lived during the Carboniferous period. Fossils have been found in the Czech Republic, and in Ohio and Illinois in the United States. It is the type genus of the family Oestocephalidae, although it used to be assigned to the family Ophiderpetontidae, which is now considered paraphyletic.Anderson, J. S. (2003). Cranial anatomy of ''Coloraderpeton brilli'', postcranial anatomy of ''Oestocephalus amphiuminus'', and reconsideration of Ophiderpentontidae (Tetrapoda: Lepospondyli: Aistopoda). ''Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology'' 23(3):532-543. It was named by Edward Drinker Cope Edward Drinker Cope (July 28, 1840 – April 12, 1897) was an American zoologist, paleontologist, comparative anatomist, herpetologist, and ichthyologist. Born to a wealthy Quaker family, Cope distinguished himself as a child prodigy interested ... in 1868 and now contains two species, ''O. amphiuminus'' and ''O. nanum''. See ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andersonerpeton
''Andersonerpeton'' is an extinct genus of aïstopod from the Bashkirian (early Pennsylvanian) of Nova Scotia, Canada. It is known from a single jaw, which shares an unusual combination of features from both other aistopods and from stem-tetrapod tetrapodomorph fish. As a result, ''Andersonerpeton'' is significant for supporting a new classification scheme which states that aistopods evolved much earlier than previously expected. The genus contains a single species, ''A. longidentatum'', which was previously believed to have been a species of the microsaur '' Hylerpeton.'' History The type species, ''A. longidentatum'', was initially described by John William Dawson on the basis of RM 2.1129, a left mandible. This fossil hailed from the Joggins fossil cliffs, a site in Nova Scotia famous for fossil deposits dated to the Bashkirian, the first stage of the Pennsylvanian subperiod of the Carboniferous period. ''A. longidentatum'' was originally named ''Hylerpeton longidentatum' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oestocephalidae
Oestocephalidae is an extinct family of Late Carboniferous aistopod stegocephalians. Fossils have been found from Ohio, Illinois, and Colorado in the United States; England; and the Czech Republic. It includes the genera '' Coloraderpeton'' and ''Oestocephalus ''Oestocephalus'' is an extinct genus of aïstopod Stegocephalian that lived during the Carboniferous period. Fossils have been found in the Czech Republic, and in Ohio and Illinois in the United States. It is the type genus of the famil ...''. Oestocephalids have robust skulls and narrow, rounded snouts. They possess heavily ossified gastralia and dorsal osteoderms. Like other aïstopods, oestocephalids were elongate, having approximately 110 vertebrae. Oestocephalidae was named in 2003, with the type species being ''Oestocephalus amphiuminus''. References Aistopods Pennsylvanian first appearances Pennsylvanian extinctions {{carboniferous-animal-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coloraderpeton
''Coloraderpeton'' is an extinct genus of aïstopod tetrapodomorphs within the family Oestocephalidae. ''Coloraderpeton'' is known from the Carboniferous Sangre de Cristo Formation of Colorado, and was initially known from vertebrae, ribs, and scales recovered from a UCLA field expedition in 1966. Peter Paul Vaughn described these remains in 1969. A skull was later reported in an unpublished 1983 thesis and formally described by Jason S. Anderson Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. H ... in 2003. References Aistopods Carboniferous amphibians Carboniferous amphibians of North America Fossil taxa described in 1969 {{paleo-amphibian-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sillerpeton
''Sillerpeton'' is an extinct genus of aïstopod tetrapodomorphs within the family Phlegethontiidae. It contains a single species, ''Sillerpeton permianum'', which is based on braincases and vertebrae from the Early Permian Richards Spur Richards Spur is a Permian fossil locality located at the Dolese Brothers Limestone Quarry north of Lawton, Oklahoma. The locality preserves clay and mudstone fissure fills of a karst system eroded out of Ordovician limestone and dolomite, with t ... locality of Oklahoma. References See also * List of prehistoric amphibian genera Aistopods Cisuralian amphibians of North America Fossil taxa described in 1978 {{permian-animal-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stegocephalian
Stegocephali (often spelled Stegocephalia) is a group containing all four-limbed vertebrates. It is equivalent to a broad definition of Tetrapoda: under this broad definition, the term "tetrapod" applies to any animal descended from the first vertebrate with limbs and toes, rather than fins. This includes both the modern lineage of limbed vertebrates (the crown group, including modern amphibians, mammals, reptiles and birds) as well as a portion of the stem group, limbed vertebrates that evolved prior to the origin of the crown group. Members of the tetrapod stem group include the earliest limbed tetrapodomorphs such as ''Ichthyostega'' and ''Acanthostega,'' which evolved in the Devonian Period long before any modern form of tetrapod. Many paleontologists prefer a stricter definition of Tetrapoda which applies solely to the crown group, excluding earlier types of limbed tetrapodomorphs. Stegocephali was re-established to replace the broad definition of Tetrapoda, resolving the us ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
