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Lepospondyl
Lepospondyli is a diverse taxon of early tetrapods. With the exception of one late-surviving lepospondyl from the Late Permian of Morocco (''Diplocaulus minumus''), lepospondyls lived from the Early Carboniferous ( Mississippian) to the Early Permian and were geographically restricted to what is now Europe and North America. Five major groups of lepospondyls are known: Adelospondyli; Aïstopoda; Lysorophia; Microsauria; and Nectridea. Lepospondyls have a diverse range of body forms and include species with newt-like, eel- or snake-like, and lizard-like forms. Various species were aquatic, semiaquatic, or terrestrial. None were large (the biggest genus, the diplocaulid ''Diplocaulus'', reached a meter in length, but most were much smaller), and they are assumed to have lived in specialized ecological niches not taken by the more numerous temnospondyl amphibians that coexisted with them in the Paleozoic. Lepospondyli was named in 1888 by Karl Alfred von Zittel, who coined the name t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Westlothiana
''Westlothiana'' ("animal from West Lothian") is a genus of reptile-like tetrapod that lived about 338 million years ago during the latest part of the Visean age of the Carboniferous. Members of the genus bore a superficial resemblance to modern-day lizards. The genus is known from a single species, ''Westlothiana lizziae''. The type specimen was discovered in the East Kirkton Limestone at the East Kirkton Quarry, West Lothian, Scotland in 1984. This specimen was nicknamed "Lizzie the lizard" by fossil hunter Stan Wood, and this name was quickly adopted by other paleontologists and the press. When the specimen was formally named in 1990, it was given the specific name "''lizziae''" in homage to this nickname.Smithson, T.R. & Rolfe, W.D.I. (1990): ''Westlothiana'' gen. nov. :naming the earliest known reptile. ''Scottish Journal of Geology'' no 26, pp 137–138. However, despite its similar body shape, ''Westlothiana'' is not considered a true lizard. ''Westlothiana'''s anatomy con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Recumbirostra
Recumbirostra is a clade of tetrapods which lived during the Carboniferous and Permian periods. They are thought to have had a fossorial (burrowing) lifestyle and the group includes both short-bodied and long-bodied snake-like forms. At least one species, the molgophid ''Nagini mazonense,'' lost its forelimbs entirely. It includes the families Pantylidae, Gymnarthridae, Ostodolepidae, Rhynchonkidae and Brachystelechidae, with additional families such as Microbrachidae and Molgophidae being included by some authors. Recumbirostra was erected as a clade in 2007 to include many of the taxa traditionally grouped in "Microsauria", which has since been shown to be a paraphyletic or polyphyletic grouping. Like other "microsaurs", the recumbirostrans have traditionally been considered to be members of the subclass Lepospondyli; however, many phylogenetic analyses conducted since the 2010s have recovered recumbirostrans as basal sauropsid amniotes instead. Not all phylogenetic analyses rec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aïstopoda
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 lac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Temnospondyl
Temnospondyli (from Greek language, Greek τέμνειν, ''temnein'' 'to cut' and σπόνδυλος, ''spondylos'' 'vertebra') is a diverse order (biology), order of small to giant tetrapods—often considered Labyrinthodontia, primitive amphibians—that flourished worldwide during the Carboniferous, Permian, and Triassic periods. A few species continued into the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Fossils have been found on every continent. During about 210 million years of evolutionary history, they adapted to a wide range of habitats, including freshwater, terrestrial, and even coastal marine environments. Their life history is well understood, with fossils known from the larval stage, metamorphosis, and maturity. Most temnospondyls were semiaquatic, although some were almost fully terrestrial, returning to the water only to breed. These temnospondyls were some of the first vertebrates fully adapted to life on land. Although temnospondyls are considered amphibians, many had cha ... [...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 famili ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Microsauria
Microsauria ("small lizards") is an extinct, possibly polyphyletic order of tetrapods from the late Carboniferous and early Permian periods. It is the most diverse and species-rich group of lepospondyls. Recently, Microsauria has been considered paraphyletic, as several other non-microsaur lepospondyl groups such as Lysorophia seem to be nested in it. Microsauria is now commonly used as a collective term for the grade of lepospondyls that were originally classified as members of Microsauria. The microsaurs all had short tails and small legs, but were otherwise quite varied in form. The group included lizard-like animals that were relatively well-adapted to living on dry land, burrowing forms, and others that, like the modern axolotl, retained their gills into adult life, and so presumably never left the water. Distribution Microsaur remains have been found from Europe and North America in Late Carboniferous and Early Permian localities. Most North American microsaurs have bee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lysorophia
Lysorophia is an order of fossorial Carboniferous and Permian tetrapods within the Recumbirostra. Lysorophians resembled small snakes, as their bodies are extremely elongate. There is a single family, the Molgophidae (previously known as Lysorophidae). Currently there are around five genera included within Lysorophia, although many may not be valid. Description The skull is heavily built but with large lateral openings to accommodate jaw musculature, with small orbits restricted to the anterior edge of the large fenestrae. The intertemporal, supratemporal, postfrontal, and jugal bones of the skull have disappeared. The mandibles are short and robust with a small number of large triangular teeth. Although it was initially thought that the maxilla and premaxilla were freely movable, detailed anatomical studies show that this is not the case. The braincase is extremely robust, suggesting that lysorophians engaged in headfirst burrowing. The torso is very elongate, the limbs ... [...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 famili ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lissamphibia
The Lissamphibia is a group of tetrapods that includes all modern amphibians. Lissamphibians consist of three living groups: the Salientia (frogs, toads, and their extinct relatives), the Caudata (salamanders, newts, and their extinct relatives), and the Gymnophiona (the limbless caecilians and their extinct relatives). A fourth group, the Allocaudata, was moderately successful, spanning 160 million years from the Middle Jurassic to the Early Pleistocene, but became extinct two million years ago. For several decades, this name has been used for a group that includes all living amphibians, but excludes all the main groups of Paleozoic tetrapods, such as Temnospondyli, Lepospondyli, Embolomeri, and Seymouriamorpha. Some scientists have concluded that all of the primary groups of modern amphibians—frogs, salamanders and caecilians—are closely related. Some writers have argued that the early Permian dissorophoid ''Gerobatrachus hottoni'' is a lissamphibian. If it is not, the earl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diplocaulidae
The Diplocaulidae ("double cauls") is an extinct family of lepospondyl amphibians that arose during the Late Carboniferous and died out in the Late Permian. They are distinguished from other amphibians, extinct and extant, by the presence of strange, horn-like protrusions jutting out from the rear of their skulls; in some genera said protrusions gave their heads an almost boomerang-like outline. Phylogeny Below is a cladogram A cladogram (from Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an evolutionary tree because it does not show how ancestors are related to d ... modified from Germain (2010): References Diplocaulids Pennsylvanian first appearances Lopingian extinctions {{Lepospondyli-stub es:Keraterpetontidae ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diplocaulus Minumus
''Diplocaulus'' (meaning "double caul") is an extinct genus of lepospondyl amphibians which lived from the Late Carboniferous to the Late Permian of North America and Africa. ''Diplocaulus'' is by far the largest and best-known of the lepospondyls, characterized by a distinctive boomerang-shaped skull. Remains attributed to ''Diplocaulus'' have been found from the Late Permian of Morocco and represent the youngest-known occurrence of a lepospondyl. Description ''Diplocaulus'' had a stocky, salamander-like body, but was relatively large, reaching up to in length. Although a complete tail is unknown for the genus, a nearly complete articulated skeleton described in 1917 preserved a row of tail vertebrae near the head. This was construed as circumstantial evidence for a long, thin tail capable of reaching the head if the animal was curled up. Most studies since this discovery have argued that anguiliform (eel-like) tail movement was the main force of locomotion utilized by ''Di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diplocaulus
''Diplocaulus'' (meaning "double caul") is an extinct genus of lepospondyl amphibians which lived from the Late Carboniferous to the Late Permian of North America and Africa. ''Diplocaulus'' is by far the largest and best-known of the lepospondyls, characterized by a distinctive boomerang-shaped skull. Remains attributed to ''Diplocaulus'' have been found from the Late Permian of Morocco and represent the youngest-known occurrence of a lepospondyl. Description ''Diplocaulus'' had a stocky, salamander-like body, but was relatively large, reaching up to in length. Although a complete tail is unknown for the genus, a nearly complete articulated skeleton described in 1917 preserved a row of tail vertebrae near the head. This was construed as circumstantial evidence for a long, thin tail capable of reaching the head if the animal was curled up. Most studies since this discovery have argued that Anguilliform, anguiliform (eel-like) tail movement was the main force of locomotion uti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
