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Megamolgophis
''Megamolgophis'' is an extinct genus of eel-like tetrapod, possibly belonging to the group Lysorophia. Fossils from this genus have been found in the Allegheny mountains of the eastern United States. The genus is endemic to geological formations of this area, such as the Greene and Washington formations of the Early Permian Dunkard Group, as well as the Pennsylvanian (Late Carboniferous) Conemaugh Group. If correctly assigned to Lysorophia, members of ''Megamolgophis'' would not only be the largest known lysorophians, but also some of the largest lepospondyls in general. In 1952, Alfred Romer suggested that the holotype may have been 1.3 meters (four feet) in length, similar to the length of an average black snake. However, based on the length of the specimen's ribs, Romer also considered it likely that it was much wider and therefore much heavier in life than a black snake, instead being proportionally similar to an eastern diamondback rattlesnake. It is uncertain whether thi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Prehistoric Amphibians
This list of prehistoric amphibians is an attempt to create a comprehensive listing of all genera from the fossil record that have ever been considered to be amphibians, excluding purely vernacular terms. The list includes all commonly accepted genera, but also genera that are now considered invalid, doubtful ('' nomina dubia''), or were not formally published (''nomina nuda''), as well as junior synonyms of more established names, and genera that are no longer considered amphibians. Modern forms are excluded from this list. The list currently includes 454 names. Naming conventions and terminology Naming conventions and terminology follow the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Technical terms used include: * Junior synonym: A name which describes the same taxon as a previously published name. If two or more genera are formally designated and the type specimens are later assigned to the same genus, the first to be published (in chronological order) is the senior synon ... [...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] |
Pennsylvanian (geology)
The Pennsylvanian ( , also known as Upper Carboniferous or Late Carboniferous) is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy, ICS geologic timescale, the younger of two period (geology), subperiods (or upper of two system (stratigraphy), subsystems) of the Carboniferous Period. It lasted from roughly . As with most other geochronology, geochronologic units, the stratum, rock beds that define the Pennsylvanian are well identified, but the exact date of the start and end are uncertain by a few hundred thousand years. The Pennsylvanian is named after the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, where the coal-productive beds of this age are widespread. The division between Pennsylvanian and Mississippian (geology), Mississippian comes from North American stratigraphy. In North America, where the early Carboniferous beds are primarily marine limestones, the Pennsylvanian was in the past treated as a full-fledged geologic period between the Mississippian and the Permian. In parts of Europe, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
The eastern diamondback rattlesnake (''Crotalus adamanteus'') is a species of pit viper in the family Viperidae. The species is endemic to the Southeastern United States. It is one of the heaviest venomous snakes in the Americas and the largest rattlesnake. No subspecies are recognized. Description The eastern diamondback rattlesnake is the largest rattlesnake species and is one of the heaviest known species of venomous snake, with one specimen shot in 1946 measuring in length and weighing . However, other venomous snakes may rival this species in weight such as the much longer but more slender king cobra and the shorter but even bulkier Gaboon viper. Maximum reported lengths for the eastern diamondback rattlesnake are and . However, the stated maximum sizes have been called into question due to a lack of voucher specimens. Males are typically larger than females, which is rare among snakes (females are usually larger than males). Specimens over are rare, but well document ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pantherophis Obsoletus
''Pantherophis obsoletus'', also known commonly as the western rat snake, black rat snake, pilot black snake, or simply black snake, is a nonvenomous species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to central North America. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid. Its color variations include the Texas rat snake.''Pantherophis obsoletus'' The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org. Along with other snakes of the eastern United States, like the (''Drymarchon couperi)'' and the |
Alfred Romer
Alfred Sherwood Romer (December 28, 1894 – November 5, 1973) was an American paleontologist and biologist and a specialist in vertebrate evolution. Biography Alfred Romer was born in White Plains, New York, the son of Harry Houston Romer and his wife, Evalyn Sherwood. He was educated at White Plains High School. He studied at Amherst College for his Bachelor of Science Honours degree in biology, then at Columbia University for an M.Sc in Biology and a doctorate in zoology in 1921. Romer joined the department of geology and paleontology at the University of Chicago as an associate professor in 1923. He was an active researcher and teacher. His collecting program added important Paleozoic specimens to Chicago's Walker Museum of Paleontology. In 1934 he was appointed professor of biology at Harvard University. In 1946, he became director of the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ). In 1954 Romer was awarded the Mary Clark Thompson Medal from the National Academy of Sc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conemaugh Group
The Conemaugh Group is a geologic group in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Maryland. It preserves fossils dating back to the Carboniferous period. See also * List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in West Virginia This article contains a list of fossil-bearing stratigraphic units in the state of West Virginia, U.S. Sites See also * Paleontology in West Virginia References * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fossiliferous stratigraphic units in West Virginia West V ... References * Carboniferous West Virginia Carboniferous Maryland Carboniferous geology of Pennsylvania {{Carboniferous-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carboniferous
The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carboniferous'' means "coal-bearing", from the Latin '' carbō'' ("coal") and '' ferō'' ("bear, carry"), and refers to the many coal beds formed globally during that time. The first of the modern 'system' names, it was coined by geologists William Conybeare and William Phillips in 1822, based on a study of the British rock succession. The Carboniferous is often treated in North America as two geological periods, the earlier Mississippian and the later Pennsylvanian. Terrestrial animal life was well established by the Carboniferous Period. Tetrapods (four limbed vertebrates), which had originated from lobe-finned fish during the preceding Devonian, became pentadactylous in and diversified during the Carboniferous, including early amphibian line ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family (taxonomy), family. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial species name for each species within the genus. :E.g. ''Panthera leo'' (lion) and ''Panthera onca'' (jaguar) are two species within the genus ''Panthera''. ''Panthera'' is a genus within the family Felidae. The composition of a genus is determined by taxonomy (biology), taxonomists. The standards for genus classification are not strictly codified, so different authorities often produce different classifications for genera. There are some general practices used, however, including the idea that a newly defined genus should fulfill these three criteria to be descriptively useful: # monophyly – all descendants ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dunkard Group
The Permian Dunkard Group (Pd) is an area of rock, Early Permian in age, in the south of Ohio, southwestern Pennsylvania, West Virginia and the hilltops of the Georges Creek Basin of Maryland. In Ohio, it is found primarily in Washington County. It is notable for being one of the few areas of Permian sediment east of the Mississippi River. In addition, it is the youngest surface rock in the state of Ohio. Description It consists of red and green shale, siltstone, and sandstone, with thin lenticular beds of argillaceous limestone and thin beds of impure coal The base of the layer contains thick-bedded, white conglomeratic sandstone. The layer's thickness is greater than 200 feet in Maryland. The fossils found in the Dunkard Group are similar to ones found in Texas and Oklahoma of similar age. Fossil content * ''Dimetrodon'' * ''Ctenospondylus'' * ''Archaeothyris'' * ''Edaphosaurus'' * ''Eryops'' * ''Xenacanthus'' * ''Ophiacodon'' * ''Diploceraspis'' * ''Diplocaulus'' * ''B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tetrapod
Tetrapods (; ) are four-limbed vertebrate animals constituting the superclass Tetrapoda (). It includes extant and extinct amphibians, sauropsids ( reptiles, including dinosaurs and therefore birds) and synapsids (pelycosaurs, extinct therapsids and all extant mammals). Tetrapods evolved from a clade of primitive semiaquatic animals known as the Tetrapodomorpha which, in turn, evolved from ancient lobe-finned fish (sarcopterygians) around 390 million years ago in the Middle Devonian period; their forms were transitional between lobe-finned fishes and true four-limbed tetrapods. Limbed vertebrates (tetrapods in the broad sense of the word) are first known from Middle Devonian trackways, and body fossils became common near the end of the Late Devonian but these were all aquatic. The first crown-tetrapods (last common ancestors of extant tetrapods capable of terrestrial locomotion) appeared by the very early Carboniferous, 350 million years ago. The specific aquatic ancestors ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Washington Formation
The Washington Formation is a coal, sandstone, and limestone geologic formation in West Virginia. It preserves fossils dating back to the Permian period. See also * List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in West Virginia This article contains a list of fossil-bearing stratigraphic units in the state of West Virginia, U.S. Sites See also * Paleontology in West Virginia References * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fossiliferous stratigraphic units in West Virginia West V ... References * Permian West Virginia Permian geology of Pennsylvania Permian geology of Virginia {{Permian-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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