Dendrerpeton, Micropholis, Plemmyradytes and Pasawioops

Dendrerpeton acadianum (Owen 1853; Holmes, Carroll and Reisz 1998; Carboniferous ~318 mya; ~10 cm in length; YPM VP 005895, BMNH R4158, RM 2.1121) was derived from a sister to Amphibamus and phylogenetically preceded Acheloma and Cacops.

Schoch and Miller 2014 considered this specimen conspecific with Dendrysekos helogenes (Steen 1934).

Larger than Amphibamus the skull was narrower, the rostrum was longer, the nares were more widely separated. The skull was highly sculptured.

Distinct from earlier interpretations by Holmes, et al. 1998, the orbit is raised above the skull roof, the prefrontal does not contact the postfrontal, the palatine is exposed laterally and the intertemporal is not present. Only a few osteoderms are present.

Below: Dendrerpeton in situ, ventral view. The manus and pes are not presented.

Pasawioops mayi (Fröbisch and Reisz 2008; Early Permian) was considered an amphibamiform, but does not nest with Amphibamus in the LRT. Here this small specimen nests between Dendrerpeton and Perryella.

Micropholis stowi (Huxley 1859; Early Triassic) is known for nearly the entire skeleton. Here an alternate manus with a two-phalanx thumb is provided. Here the lateral view of the skull does not always match the dorsal view. Many specimens are known.

Plemmyradytes shintoni (Huttenlocker et al. 2007; Early Permian) is known from a tiny partial skull. Here as elsewhere this taxon nests with Micropholis. These are traditionally considered members of the Amphibamidae, but neither nests close to Amphibamus.

Holmes RB, Carroll RL and Reisz RR 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 18:64-79.

Huttenlocker AK, Pardo JS and Small BJ 2007. Plemmyradytes shintoni, gen. et. sp. nov., an Early Permian Amphibamid (Temnospondyli: Dissorophoidea) from the Eskridge Formation, Nebraska". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 27 (2): 316–328.

Huxley TH 1859. On some Amphibian and Reptilian Remains from South Africa and Australia. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society. 15 (1–2): 642–658.

Fröbisch NB and Reisz RR 2008. A New Lower Permian Amphibamid (Dissorophoidea, Temnospondyli) from the Fissure Fill Deposits Near Richards Spur, Oklahoma. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 28(4):1015–1030.

Moodie RL 1909. A contribution to a monograph of the extinct Amphibia of North America. New forms from the Carboniferous. Journal of Geology 17:38–82.

Owen R 1853. Notes on the above-described fossil remains. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London 9:66-67.

Schoch RR and Milner AR 2014. Temnospondyli I. Part 3A2 of Sues H-D, ed. Handbook of
6468 Paleoherpetology. Munich: Dr. Friedrich Pfeil.

Steen MC 1934. The amphibian fauna from the South Joggins, Nova Scotia. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1934:465-504.

Wyman J 1857. On a batrachian reptile from the coal formation. Proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 10th Meeting, 172-173.

wiki/Dendrerpeton
wiki/Pasawioops
wiki/Micropholis
wiki/Plemmyradytes

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Cacops

Fedexia

Dendrerpeton

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