''Oestocephalus'' is an extinct genus of

aïstopod Aistopoda (Greek for " avingnot-visible feet") is an order of highly specialised snake-like stegocephalians known from the Carboniferous and Early Permian of Europe and North America, ranging from tiny forms only , to nearly in length. They fir ...

Stegocephalian that lived during the

Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carbonifero ...

period. Fossils have been found in the Czech Republic, and in Ohio and Illinois in the United States. It is the type genus of the family Oestocephalidae, although it used to be assigned to the family

Ophiderpetontidae ''Ophiderpeton'' (from el, ὄφῐς , 'snake' and el, ἑρπετόν 'creeper') is an extinct genus of aistopod tetrapodomorphs from the early Carboniferous to the early Permian. Remains of this genus are widespread and were found in Ohio, ...

, which is now considered

paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...

.Anderson, J. S. (2003). Cranial anatomy of ''Coloraderpeton brilli'', postcranial anatomy of ''Oestocephalus amphiuminus'', and reconsideration of Ophiderpentontidae (Tetrapoda: Lepospondyli: Aistopoda). ''Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology'' 23(3):532-543. It was named by

Edward Drinker Cope Edward Drinker Cope (July 28, 1840 – April 12, 1897) was an American zoologist, paleontologist, comparative anatomist, herpetologist, and ichthyologist. Born to a wealthy Quaker family, Cope distinguished himself as a child prodigy interested ...

in 1868 and now contains two species, ''O. amphiuminus'' and ''O. nanum''.

References

Aistopods Carboniferous fish of North America Carboniferous fish of Europe Taxa named by Edward Drinker Cope Fossil taxa described in 1868 {{paleo-amphibian-stub

See also

References