''Cephalerpeton'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

genus of " protorothyridid" eureptile known from the Late Carboniferous (late Westphalian stage) of Illinois. Cephalerpeton fossil diagram

It is known from the holotype YPM 796, a partial

skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of an animal. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside ...

. It was collected in the Mazon Creek site, from the Francis Creek Shale Member of the

Carbondale Formation The Carbondale Formation is a geologic formation in Indiana. It preserves fossils dating back to the Carboniferous period. See also * List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Indiana This article contains a list of fossil-bearing stratig ...

. It was first named by R. L. Moodie in

1912 Events January * January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established. * January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens. * January 6 ...

as an

amphibamid The Amphibamidae are an extinct Family (biology), family of Dissorophoidea, dissorophoid temnospondyls known from Late Carboniferous-Early Permian strata in the United States. Classification Amphibamidae has traditionally included small-bodied ...

amphibian and the type species is ''Cephalerpeton ventriarmatum''. It was first assigned to Protorothyrididae by

Robert L. Carroll Robert "Bob" Lynn Carroll (May 5, 1938 – April 8, 2020) was an American–Canadian vertebrate paleontologist who specialised in Paleozoic and Mesozoic amphibians and reptiles. Biography Carroll was an only child and grew up on a farm near ...

and Donald Baird in 1972 and this placement has been widely accepted.

References

Prehistoric romeriids Fossil taxa described in 1912 Carboniferous reptiles of North America Prehistoric reptile genera {{carboniferous-animal-stub