''Conjunctio'' 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

amphibian from the early

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Paleoz ...

of New Mexico. 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 ...

, ''Conjunctio multidens'', was named by paleontologist

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 ne ...

in 1964.

History of study

The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

specimen was found in 1911 in the Lower Permian

Abo Formation The Abo Formation is a geologic formation in New Mexico. It contains fossils characteristic of the Cisuralian epoch of the Permian period. Description The Abo Formation consists of fluvial redbed mudstones and sandstones, including river channel ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

. It consists of the skull and postcranial material including femora, humeri, scapulae, pelvis, a section of the vertebral column, and osteoderms. It was originally described by Case et al. (1913) as a referred specimen of ''Aspidosaurus'' (sometimes "''Broiliellus''") ''novomexicanus'' but was subsequently determined to be a distinct species by Carroll (1964). Carroll also identified a third specimen of ''Conjunctio'', which he did not refer specifically to ''C. multidens''; this was subsequently referred to as the "Admiral Taxon" (because it came from the Admiral Formation of Texas) by most workers until it was formalized as a distinct genus and species, ''Scapanops neglecta'', by Schoch & Sues (2013). These authors also provided an updated description and illustration of ''C. multidens''.

Phylogenetic position

''Conjunctio'' is typically recovered as a basal eucacopine.

References

Dissorophids Cisuralian temnospondyls of North America Permian geology of New Mexico Fossil taxa described in 1964 Prehistoric amphibian genera Taxa named by Robert L. Carroll {{permian-animal-stub