''Ostodolepis'' 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 ...

microsaur Microsauria ("small lizards") is an extinct, possibly polyphyletic order of tetrapods from the late Carboniferous and early Permian periods. It is the most diverse and species-rich group of lepospondyls. Recently, Microsauria has been considere ...

within 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 ...

Ostodolepidae Ostodolepidae, also spelled Ostodolepididae, is an extinct family of Early Permian microsaurs. They are unique among microsaurs in that they were large, reaching lengths of up to , terrestrial, and presumably fossorial. Ostodolepid remains have b ...

. It is known from the

Arroyo Formation The Arroyo Formation is a geologic formation in Texas.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 ...

of ''Ostodolepis'' was discovered in 1909 by American paleontologist S.W. Williston in Willsbarger County, Texas. It was formally described in 1913. A second, more complete specimen was reported by Case (1929), purportedly from the same locality as the holotype, that is now the holotype of ''Pelodosotis elongatum''. A third specimen (BPI 3839) was collected in 1965 by Kitching from the same locality as Case's specimen but is regarded as being more likely to belong to '' Micraroter erythrogeios''. The name ''Ostodolepis brevispinatus'' is thus restricted to the holotype, which is currently reposited at the

Field Museum of Natural History The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educational ...

. ''Ostodolepis'' is from Greek ''ost-ōdēs'' ‘bone-like’ and ''lepís'' ‘scale, husk, shell’.

Anatomy

The holotype of ''Ostodolepis'' is represented only by seven vertebrae and their associated ribs and scales. They generally differ little from those of other 'microsaurs' except with respect to proportions and the distinctiveness of the suture between the neural arch and the centrum. Carroll & Gaskill (1978) reported an alternation in height of the neural spines that differentiates it from BPI 3839.

Relationships

The incompleteness of the holotype and the fact that it is probably not diagnostic preclude any testing of the relationships of ''Ostodolepis'' in a phylogenetic matrix. As the namesake for the family, Ostodolepidae, its placement is based largely on the similarity in overlapping skeletal regions with better known ostodolepids such as ''Pelodosotis''.

References

Ostodolepids Permian reptiles of North America Taxa named by Samuel Wendell Williston Fossil taxa described in 1913 {{Lepospondyli-stub

Anatomy

Relationships

See also

References