Loxomma

Loxomma
Temporal range: ~330–306.95 Ma
Loxomma allmanni skull cast at the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Sarcopterygii
Clade: Tetrapodomorpha
Family: †Baphetidae
Subfamily: †Loxommatinae
Genus: †Loxomma
Huxley, 1862

Loxomma (meaning “slanting eyes”) is an extinct genus of Loxommatinae and one of the first Carboniferous tetrapods.[1] They were first described in 1862 and further described in 1870 when two more craniums were found.[2][3] It is mostly associated with the area of the United Kingdom.[3] They share features with modern reptiles as well as with fish.[4] They had 4 paddle-like limbs that they used to swim in lakes, but they breathed air.[5][4] Their diet consisted mostly of live fish.[3] They are of the family Baphetidae which are distinguished by their keyhole shaped orbits,[1] while Loxomma themselves are distinguished by the unique texture on their skulls, said to be honeycomb-like.[6][4][3]

  1. ^ a b Clack, Jennifer (2012). Gaining Ground, Second Edition: The Origin and Evolution of Tetrapods (Life of the Past). Indiana University Press. pp. 328–333. ISBN 978-0253356758.
  2. ^ Hancock, Albany; Atthey, Thomas (1871). "Description of a considerable portion of a mandibular ramus of Anthracosaurus Russelli; with notes on Loxomma and Archichthys". The Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 7 (38): 73–79. doi:10.1080/00222937108696323.
  3. ^ a b c d Thorpe, Thomas Edward; Green, Alexander Henry; Miall, Louis Compton; Rucker, Arthur William; Marshall, Alfred (1878). Coal; its history and uses. London, Macmillan & Co. pp. 122–124.
  4. ^ a b c Embleton, M; Atthey, Thomas (1874). "On the Skull and some other Bones of Loxomma Allmanni". Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 14: 38–59. doi:10.1080/00222937408680919.
  5. ^ Milner, Angela; Lindsay, William (1998). "Postcranial remains of Baphetes and their bearing on the relationships of the Baphetidae (= Loxommatidae)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 122 (1–2): 211–235. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1998.tb02530.x.
  6. ^ Lydekker, R (1890). "On Two New Species of Labyrinthodonts" (PDF). Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. 46 (1–4): 289–294. doi:10.1144/GSL.JGS.1890.046.01-04.19. S2CID 130320708.