Albanerpeton

Albanerpeton
Temporal range: Aptian–Gelasian
Albanerpeton inexpectatum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Allocaudata
Family: Albanerpetontidae
Genus: Albanerpeton
Estes and Hoffstetter, 1976
Species
  • A. inexpectatum Estes and Hoffstetter, 1976. Re-described by Gardner, 1999. (type)
  • A. galaktion Fox and Naylor, 1981
  • A. nexuosus Estes, 1981
  • A. arthridion Fox and Naylor, 1982
  • A. cifellii Gardner, 1999
  • A. gracilis Gardner, 2000
  • A. pannonicus Venczel and Gardner, 2005
  • A. ektopistikon Carrano et al., 2022

Albanerpeton is an extinct genus of salamander-like albanerpetontid amphibian found in North America, Europe and Asia first appearing in Cretaceous-aged strata. There are eight described members of the genus, and one undiagnosed species from the Paskapoo Formation, making it by far the most speciose genus in the family.[1] Members of the genus had a robust head and neck which likely allowed them to actively burrow, characteristic of fossorial species, and they lived in a wide range of environments. This genus of amphibian was the last of its order, surviving until into the Early Pleistocene (Gelasian) of northern Italy,[2] and possibly northern Spain,[3] until around 2 million years ago. It likely became extinct when the region developed its present Mediterranean-type climate, having preferred one that was cold and humid.[2] The monophyly of Albanerpeton has recently been questioned, with some authors regarding the genus as paraphyletic.[4][5]

  1. ^ Carrano, M. T.; Oreska, M. P. J.; Murch, A.; Trujillo, K. C.; Chamberlain, K. R. (2022). "Vertebrate paleontology of the Cloverly Formation (Lower Cretaceous), III: a new species of Albanerpeton, with biogeographic and paleoecological implications". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 41 (5): e2003372. doi:10.1080/02724634.2021.2003372. S2CID 247335328.
  2. ^ a b Villa, Andrea; Blain, Hugues-Alexandre; Delfino, Massimo (2018-01-15). "The Early Pleistocene herpetofauna of Rivoli Veronese (Northern Italy) as evidence for humid and forested glacial phases in the Gelasian of Southern Alps". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 490: 393–403. Bibcode:2018PPP...490..393V. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2017.11.016. hdl:2318/1652046. ISSN 0031-0182.
  3. ^ López-García, Juan Manuel; Piñero, Pedro; Agustí, Jordi; Furió, Marc; Galán, Julia; Moncunill-Solé, Blanca; Ruiz-Sánchez, Francisco Javier; Blain, Hugues-Alexandre; Sanz, Montserrat; Daura, Joan (2023-03-02). "Chronological context, species occurrence, and environmental remarks on the Gelasian site Pedrera del Corral d'en Bruach (Barcelona, Spain) based on the small-mammal associations". Historical Biology: 1–20. doi:10.1080/08912963.2023.2180740. ISSN 0891-2963. S2CID 257316502.
  4. ^ Matsumoto, Ryoko; Evans, Susan E. (2018-01-03). "The first record of albanerpetontid amphibians (Amphibia: Albanerpetontidae) from East Asia". PLOS ONE. 13 (1): e0189767. Bibcode:2018PLoSO..1389767M. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0189767. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 5752013. PMID 29298317.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference :02 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).