Limnoscelis

Limnoscelis
Temporal range: Late Carboniferous - Early Permian, 306.5–295.0 Ma
Cast of the L. paludis holotype (YPM 811) on display at the Redpath Museum, Montreal
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Order: †Diadectomorpha
Family: †Limnoscelidae
Genus: †Limnoscelis
Williston, 1911
Type species
†Limnoscelis paludis
Williston, 1911
Other species
  • †L. dynatis Berman and Sumida, 1990

Limnoscelis (/limˈnäsələ̇s/, meaning "marsh footed") was a genus of large diadectomorph tetrapods from the Late Carboniferous to early Permian of western North America. It includes two species: the type species Limnoscelis paludis from New Mexico,[1] and Limnoscelis dynatis from Colorado,[2] both of which are thought to have lived concurrently.[3] No specimens of Limnoscelis are known from outside of North America.[1][2][4] Limnoscelis was carnivorous,[1] and likely semiaquatic,[1] though it may have spent a significant portion of its life on land.[5] Limnoscelis had a combination of derived amphibian and primitive reptilian features,[6] and its placement relative to Amniota has significant implications regarding the origins of the first amniotes.[7][8]

  1. ^ a b c d Williston, S.W. (1911). "A new family of reptiles from the Permian of New Mexico". The American Journal of Science. 4. 33 (185): 378–398. Bibcode:1911AmJS...31..378W. doi:10.2475/ajs.s4-31.185.378.
  2. ^ a b Berman, D.S.; Sumida, S.S. (1990). "A new species of Limnoscelis (Amphibia, Diadectomorpha) from the Late Pennsylvanian Sangre de Cristo Formation of Central Colorado". Annals of Carnegie Museum. 59 (4): 303–341. doi:10.5962/p.240774. S2CID 92022042.
  3. ^ Fracasso, M.A. (1983). "Cranial Osteology, Functional Morphology, Systematics, and Paleoenvironment of Limnoscelis paludis Williston". Dissertation.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Kennedy, N.K. (2010). "Redescription of the Postcranial Skeleton of Limnoscelis paludis Williston (Diadectomorpha: Limnoscelidae) from the Upper Pennsylvanian of El Cobre Canyon, Northern New Mexico". New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 49: 211–220.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Laurin, M.; Reisz, R.R. (1995). "A Reevaluation of Early Amniote Phylogeny". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 113 (2): 165–223. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1995.tb00932.x.
  8. ^ Berman, D.S.; Sumida, S.S.; Lombard, R.E. (1992). "Reinterpretation of the Temporal and Occipital Regions in Diadectes and the Relationships of Diadectomorphs". Journal of Paleontology. 66 (3): 481–499. Bibcode:1992JPal...66..481B. doi:10.1017/S0022336000034028. S2CID 73547163.