Protoclepsydrops

Protoclepsydrops
Temporal range: Late Carboniferous, 318–315 Ma
↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Clade:Amniota
Clade:Synapsida (?)
Genus:†Protoclepsydrops
Carroll, 1964
Type species
†Protoclepsydrops haplous
Carroll, 1964

Protoclepsydrops is an extinct genus of early synapsids, found in Joggins, Nova Scotia.[1]

Description

Like Archaeothyris, Protoclepsydrops resembled modern lizards. However, Protoclepsydrops still had primitive vertebrae with tiny neural processes typical of the amniotes' amphibian ancestors.

Classification

Its skeletal remains indicate that it may have been more closely related to synapsids than to sauropsids, making it a possible synapsid member. If so, it is the oldest synapsid known, though its status is unconfirmed because its remains were fragmentary. Protoclepsydrops lived slightly earlier than Archaeothyris.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Carroll, Robert L. (1964). "The earliest reptiles". Journal of the Linnean Society of London, Zoology. 45 (304): 61–83. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1964.tb00488.x. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  2. ↑ Benton M.J. and Donoghue P.C.J. 2006. Palaeontological evidence to date the tree of life. Molecular biology and evolution. 24(1): 26–53.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.