Whatcheeria

Whatcheeria
Temporal range: Early Carboniferous, late Viséan - early Serpukhovian?
Skull diagram
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Sarcopterygii
Clade: Tetrapodomorpha
Clade: Elpistostegalia
Clade: Stegocephali
Family: †Whatcheeriidae
Genus: †Whatcheeria
Lombard and Bolt, 1995
Species
  • †W. deltae Lombard and Bolt, 1995 (type)

Whatcheeria is an extinct genus of early tetrapod from the Mississippian (Early Carboniferous) of Iowa. Fossils have been found in 340 million year old fissure fill deposits in the town of Delta. The type species, Whatcheeria deltae was named in 1995. It is classified within the family Whatcheeriidae, along with the closely related Pederpes and possibly Ossinodus.[1][2][3]

Whatcheeria is named after What Cheer, Iowa, the hometown of Pat McAdams, the geologist who discovered the first skeletons of the animal. The species is named after Delta, Iowa, the location where the fossils were uncovered.[1]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference LB95 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference otoo2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Rawson, James R. G.; Porro, Laura B.; Martin-Silverstone, Elizabeth; Rayfield, Emily J. (2021-03-04). "Osteology and digital reconstruction of the skull of the early tetrapod Whatcheeria deltae". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 41 (2): e1927749. doi:10.1080/02724634.2021.1927749. ISSN 0272-4634. S2CID 237517972.