Huskerpeton

Huskerpeton
Temporal range: Early Permian
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Order: †Microsauria
Clade: †Recumbirostra
Genus: †Huskerpeton
Huttenlocker et al., 2013
Type species
†Huskerpeton englehorni
Huttenlocker et al., 2013

Huskerpeton (“Husker” after the University of Nebraska “corn huskers” and “-erpeton” meaning creeping in Greek) is an extinct genus of recumbirostran from the Early Permian period. They belong to the order Microsauria, which was established in 1863 by Dawson, and was quickly expanded to include many different small taxa.[1] They lived in what is now Nebraska and Kansas. The holotype (and only existing specimen) of Huskerpeton was uncovered at the Eskridge formation in Nebraska, which is part of how it got its name.

Most recumbirostrans stayed very small in size, with skulls rarely larger than 1 cm long.[2][3] Huskerpeton is no exception, with a skull length of 17mm and width of 13mm.[4] Recumbirostra was established as a clade in 2007 to include many of the traditional microsaurs, and has since been shown to be a paraphyletic, or polyphyletic grouping.[5][4][6][7] Recumbirostrans are characterized by “their reduced complement of dermal skull bones, a unique atlantooccipital joint, a shovel-like snout, and recumbent premaxilla,” and are the first early tetrapods to show evidence of headfirst burrowing.[6]

  1. ^ Carroll, Robert Lynn; Gaskill, Pamela (1978). The Order Microsauria. American Philosophical Society. ISBN 978-0-87169-126-2.
  2. ^ Anderson, Jason S.; Scott, Diane; Reisz, Robert R. (2009-06-12). "Nannaroter mckinziei , a new ostodolepid 'microsaur' (Tetrapoda, Lepospondyli, Recumbirostra) from the Early Permian of Richards Spur (Ft. Sill), Oklahoma". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 29 (2): 379–388. doi:10.1671/039.029.0222. ISSN 0272-4634. S2CID 130420068.
  3. ^ Maddin, Hillary C.; Olori, Jennifer C.; Anderson, Jason S. (June 2011). "A redescription of Carrolla craddocki (Lepospondyli: Brachystelechidae) based on high-resolution CT, and the impacts of miniaturization and fossoriality on morphology". Journal of Morphology. 272 (6): 722–743. doi:10.1002/jmor.10946. PMID 21484854. S2CID 23641406.
  4. ^ a b Huttenlocker, Adam K.; Pardo, Jason D.; Small, Bryan J.; Anderson, Jason S. (May 2013). "Cranial morphology of recumbirostrans (Lepospondyli) from the Permian of Kansas and Nebraska, and early morphological evolution inferred by micro-computed tomography". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 33 (3): 540–552. doi:10.1080/02724634.2013.728998. ISSN 0272-4634. S2CID 129144343.
  5. ^ Anderson, J.S. (2007). "Incorporating ontogeny into the matrix: A phylogenetic evaluation of developmental evidence for the origin of modern Amphibians". Major Transitions in Vertebrate Evolution: 182–227.
  6. ^ a b Pardo, Jason D.; Szostakiwskyj, Matt; Anderson, Jason S. (2015-06-24). Farke, Andrew A. (ed.). "Cranial Morphology of the Brachystelechid 'Microsaur' Quasicaecilia texana Carroll Provides New Insights into the Diversity and Evolution of Braincase Morphology in Recumbirostran 'Microsaurs'". PLOS ONE. 10 (6): e0130359. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0130359. ISSN 1932-6203. PMID 26107260.
  7. ^ Mann, Arjan; Pardo, Jason D; Sues, Hans-Dieter (2023-02-28). "Osteology and phylogenetic position of the diminutive 'microsaur' Odonterpeton triangulare from the Pennsylvanian of Linton, Ohio, and major features of recumbirostran phylogeny". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 197 (3): 641–655. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac043. ISSN 0024-4082.