''Actiobates'' is an extinct

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 com ...

of trematopid

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 amphi ...

that lived during the

Late Carboniferous Late may refer to: * LATE, an acronym which could stand for: ** Limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy, a proposed form of dementia ** Local-authority trading enterprise, a New Zealand business law ** Local average treatment effect, ...

. It is known from the Garnett Quarry in Kansas.

History of study

''Actiobates peabodyi'' was named in 1973 by Theodore Eaton. The genus name derives from the Greek words ' ("shore") and ' ("walker"), referring to the

estuarine An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

nature of the Garnett Quarry deposits, and the specific name is for the American paleontologist Frank Peabody. The taxon is based on a single specimen represented by a partial skull and associated postcranial skeleton that is currently deposited at the

University of Kansas Natural History Museum The University of Kansas Natural History Museum is part of the University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute, a KU designated research center dedicated to the study of the life of the planet. The museum's galleries are in Dyche Hall on the unive ...

Anatomy

The holotype of ''A. peabodyi'' is dorsoventrally compressed, obscuring many details of the anatomy. Schoch & Milner (2014) listed only one diagnostic feature for the taxon, a quadratojugal excluded from the smooth ventral border of the otic notch.

Relationships

Eaton (1973) originally classified ''Actiobates'' as a

dissorophid Dissorophidae is an extinct family of medium-sized, temnospondyl amphibians that flourished during the late Carboniferous and early Permian periods. The clade is known almost exclusively from North America. History of study Dissorophidae is a ...

but only because he considered the differences between dissorophids and trematopids to be insufficient to warrant their differentiation. Subsequent phylogenetic analyses have generally refrained from including ''Actiobates'' in their analysis because of its interpretation as a putative larval individual, but it is widely accepted to be a trematopid in recent studies.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4677029 Dissorophids Prehistoric amphibian genera Carboniferous temnospondyls of North America Fossil taxa described in 1973

History of study

Anatomy

Relationships

See also

References