Dendrerpeton

Dendrerpeton
Temporal range: Carboniferous
Westphalian
Skull of Dendrerpeton on display at the Redpath Museum, Montreal
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Order: †Temnospondyli
Family: †Dendrerpetontidae
Genus: †Dendrerpeton
Owen, 1853
Type species
†Dendrerpeton acadianum
Owen, 1853
Species
  • Dendrerpeton acadianum
  • Dendrerpeton annectens
  • Dendrerpeton confusum
  • Dendrerpeton rugosum
Synonyms
  • Erpetocephalus Huxley 1867

Dendrerpeton (from Greek: δένδρον déndron, 'tree' and Greek: ἑρπετόν herpetón, 'creeping thing') is a genus of an extinct group of temnospondyl amphibians.[1] Its fossils have been found primarily in the Joggins Formation of Eastern Canada and in Ireland.[2][3] It lived during the Carboniferous[4][5] and is said to be around 309–316 million years of age, corresponding to more specifically the Westphalian (stage) age.[6] Of terrestrial temnospondyl amphibians evolution, it represents the first stage.[3] Although multiple species have been proposed, the species unanimously recognized is D. acadianum.[2] This species name comes from “Acadia” which is a historical name for the Nova Scotia region as a French colony. It refers to the location of the coal field at which the fossil was found.[7]

  1. ^ "Fossilworks: Dendrerpeton". fossilworks.org. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  2. ^ a b Robinson, J.; Ahlberg, P. E.; Koentges, G. (2005-04-01). "The braincase and middle ear region of Dendrerpeton acadianum (Tetrapoda: Temnospondyli)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 143 (4): 577–597. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2005.00156.x. ISSN 0024-4082.
  3. ^ a b Godfrey, Stephen; Fiorillo, Anthony; Carroll, Robert (2011-02-08). "A newly discovered skull of the temnospondyl amphibian Dendrerpeton acadianum Owen". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 24 (4): 796–805. doi:10.1139/e87-077.
  4. ^ Marsh, O. C. (1863). "Description of the remains of a new enaliosaurian (Eosaurus acadianus), from the coal-formation of Nova Scotia". Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society. 19 (1–2): 52–56. doi:10.1144/GSL.JGS.1863.019.01-02.10. S2CID 140690441. ProQuest 89591459.
  5. ^ Schoch, Rainer R. (2013-07-26). "The evolution of major temnospondyl clades: an inclusive phylogenetic analysis". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 11 (6): 673–705. doi:10.1080/14772019.2012.699006. S2CID 83906628.
  6. ^ Holmes, Robert B.; Carroll, Robert L.; Reisz, Robert R. (1998). "The first articulated skeleton of Dendrerpeton acadianum (Temnospondyli, Dendrerpetontidae) from the Lower Pennsylvanian locality of Joggins, Nova Scotia, and a review of its relationships". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 18 (1): 64–79. doi:10.1080/02724634.1998.10011034. ISSN 0272-4634. JSTOR 4523873.
  7. ^ Lyell, Charles; Dawson, J. W. (1853-02-01). "On the remains of a reptile (Dendrerpeton acadianum, Wyman and Owen) and of a land shell discovered in the interior of an erect fossil tree in the coal measures of Nova Scotia". Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society. 9 (1–2): 58–67. doi:10.1144/GSL.JGS.1853.009.01-02.20. ISSN 0370-291X.