''Cheliderpeton'' (often misspelled ''Chelyderpeton'') is an extinct genus of temnospondyl

amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...

. It lived during the

Early Permian 01 or '01 may refer to: * The year 2001, or any year ending with 01 * The month of January * 1 (number) Music * '01 (Richard Müller album), 01'' (Richard Müller album), 2001 * 01 (Son of Dave album), ''01'' (Son of Dave album), 2000 * 01 (Urban ...

in what is now

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Fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

s have been found from the Ruprechtice horizon of the Intrasudetic Basin of

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

in the

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, as well as the Saar-Nahe Basin of southwestern Germany. ''Cheliderpeton'' had a 16 cm

skull The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, the ...

, and reached about 65 cm in length.http://www.angellis.net/Web/PDfiles/amphs.pdf The

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

of ''Cheliderpeton'' is ''Chelidosaurus vranyi'', named in 1877 by the

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

paleontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

Antonin Fritsch Antonin may refer to: People * Antonin (name) Places ;Poland * Antonin, Jarocin County, Greater Poland Voivodeship * Antonin, Kalisz County, Greater Poland Voivodeship * Antonin, Oborniki County, Greater Poland Voivodeship * Antonin, Ostrów ...

and found from the Czech Republic. The preoccupied generic name, referring to the trunk armour of turtles, was first changed into ''Chelydosaurus'' in 1885 and finally into ''Cheliderpeton'' in 1887. A second species named ''C. latirostre'' was described in 1993 by J. A. Boy from Germany, after having been assigned to ''

Archegosaurus ''Archegosaurus'' is a genus of temnospondyl amphibian which lived during the Asselian to Wuchiapingian stages of the Permian, around 299-253 million years ago. The remains of this animal, consisting of at least 90 partial skeletons (mostly skull ...

''. It differs from the type in having a less extensive preorbital region of the skull, a wider cheek region, and a snout tip that is less round and has lateral projections. Currently the two species are the only ones known to belong to ''Cheliderpeton'', although there have been more assigned in the past that are now considered to be

synonymous A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

with the known species. ''"Actinodon germanicus"'', described by O. Kuhn in 1939 on the basis of a specimen found from the Czech Republic,"''A. germanicus''", was named during the time when Germany occupied Bohemia, hence the specific name. It is now known to be an unusually large individual of ''C. vranyi'', probably in a late stage of ontogenic development. It has been suggested that ''C. latirostre'' may belong to a separate genus, either to ''Archegosaurus'' or its own distinct taxon, due to several differences between it and the type species. These differences include the concave outline of the

skull roof The skull roof, or the roofing bones of the skull, are a set of bones covering the brain, eyes and nostrils in bony fishes and all land-living vertebrates. The bones are derived from dermal bone and are part of the dermatocranium. In comparati ...

, the expanded snout seen in adult individuals (similar to ''Archegosaurus decheni''), and a

nasal Nasal is an adjective referring to the nose, part of human or animal anatomy. It may also be shorthand for the following uses in combination: * With reference to the human nose: ** Nasal administration, a method of pharmaceutical drug delivery ** ...

maxilla The maxilla (plural: ''maxillae'' ) in vertebrates is the upper fixed (not fixed in Neopterygii) bone of the jaw formed from the fusion of two maxillary bones. In humans, the upper jaw includes the hard palate in the front of the mouth. The t ...

contact in the adult stage. In 2009, ''C. latirostre'' was placed in its own genus, ''

Glanochthon ''Glanochthon'' is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibian from the Early Permian of Germany. Fossils have been found from the Meisenheim Formation Meisenheim () is a town in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It ...

''. ''Cheliderpeton'' is closely related to the genus ''

Intasuchus ''Intasuchus'' is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibian from the Middle Permian of Russia. It is known from a single species, ''Intasuchus silvicola'', which was named in 1956. ''Intasuchus'' belongs to the family Intasuchidae and is probabl ...

'' from the northern pre-

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region of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. Both share similarities in skull shape, as well as a short and expanded dorsal branch of the ilium and a

premaxilla The premaxilla (or praemaxilla) is one of a pair of small cranial bones at the very tip of the upper jaw of many animals, usually, but not always, bearing teeth. In humans, they are fused with the maxilla. The "premaxilla" of therian mammal has b ...

-maxilla suture that is anterior to the

choana The choanae (singular choana), posterior nasal apertures or internal nostrils are two openings found at the back of the nasal passage between the nasal cavity and the throat in tetrapods, including humans and other mammals (as well as crocodilia ...

. Fossils of temnospondyls similar in appearance to ''Cheliderpeton'' have been found from the Autun Basin and the basin of

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''Cheliderpeton'' may be a member of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Archegosauridae Archegosauridae is a family of relatively large and long snouted temnospondyls that lived in the Permian period. They were fully aquatic animals, and were metabolically and physiologically more similar to fish than modern amphibians.Florian Witzm ...

or the family

Intasuchidae ''Intasuchus'' is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibian from the Middle Permian of Russia. It is known from a single species, ''Intasuchus silvicola'', which was named in 1956. ''Intasuchus'' belongs to the family Intasuchidae and is probabl ...

. The family Archegosauridae belongs to the

superfamily SUPERFAMILY is a database and search platform of structural and functional annotation for all proteins and genomes. It classifies amino acid sequences into known structural domains, especially into SCOP superfamilies. Domains are functional, str ...

Archegosauroidea Archegosauroidea is an extinct superfamily of Permian temnospondyls. The superfamily is assigned to the clade Stereospondylomorpha and is the sister taxon to the suborder Stereospondyli. It includes the families Actinodontidae and Archegosauridae ...

, but it is unsure whether ''Intasuchus'', the type species of Intasuchidae, belongs to Archegosauroidea or the family

Eryopidae Eryopidae were a group of medium to large amphibious temnospondyli, known from North America and Europe. They are defined as all eryopoids with interpterygoid vacuities (spaces in the interpterygoid bone) that are rounded at the front; and larg ...

, within the superfamily

Eryopoidea Eryopoidea are a taxon of late Carboniferous and Permian temnospondyli amphibians, known from North America and Europe. Carroll includes no fewer than ten families, but Yates and Warren replace this with a cladistic approach and include three fa ...

. Thus it is unsure whether ''Cheliderpeton'' is an eryopoid (and perhaps more specifically an eryopid) or an archegosauroid. ''Cheliderpeton'' had previously been placed in the family

Actinodontidae Eryopidae were a group of medium to large amphibious temnospondyli, known from North America and Europe. They are defined as all eryopoids with interpterygoid vacuities (spaces in the interpterygoid bone) that are rounded at the front; and larg ...

along with ''

Actinodon ''Actinodon'' is an extinct genus of eryopoidean temnospondyl within the family Eryopidae. History of study ''Actinodon'' was named in 1866 by French paleontologist Jean Albert Gaudry based on a holotype skull that was collected by Charles F ...

'', ''

Syndyodosuchus ''Syndyodosuchus'' is an extinct genus of temnospondyl within the family (biology), family Actinodontidae. It is known from the Permian Inta Formation of European Russia. See also * Prehistoric amphibian * List of prehistoric amphibians Referen ...

'' and ''

Sclerocephalus ''Sclerocephalus'' is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibian from the lowermost Permian of Germany and Czech Republic with four valid species, including the type species ''S. haeuseri''. It is one of the most completely preserved and most abu ...

'', but because ''Actinodon'', the

type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearing type of a nominal f ...

of the family, is a junior synonym of the eryopid ''

Onchiodon ''Onchiodon'' is an extinct genus of temnospondyl. It is primarily known from the Carboniferous and Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period ...

'', the family is now considered

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage of organisms or other evolving elements that is of mixed evolutionary origin. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as homoplasies, which are explained as a result of converg ...

Notes and references

External links

''Cheliderpeton''
in the

Paleobiology Database The Paleobiology Database is an online resource for information on the distribution and classification of fossil animals, plants, and microorganisms. History The Paleobiology Database (PBDB) originated in the NCEAS-funded Phanerozoic Marine Pale ...

{{Taxonbar, from=Q967490 Permian temnospondyls of Europe Fossil taxa described in 1877 Taxa named by Antonin Fritsch Prehistoric amphibian genera