Ichthyosaura randeckensis Temporal range:
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Amphibia |
Order: | Urodela |
Family: | Salamandridae |
Genus: | Ichthyosaura |
Species: | I. randeckensis
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Binomial name | |
Ichthyosaura randeckensis Schoch & Rasser, 2013
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Ichthyosaura randeckensis is a fossil newt species in the family Salamandridae. It was described in 2013 from a Miocene volcanic lake deposit, the Randeck Maar Formation, in Germany. The fossil specimen is fully articulated and 3–4 centimetres (1.2–1.6 in) long. A phylogenetic analysis found the species to be the sister species of the extant alpine newt (Ichthyosaura alpestris), and the authors therefore placed it in the same genus.[1] Later analysis by other authors did not confirm this, however; they suggested I. randeckensis may not belong to Ichthyosaura.[2]