Protoclepsydrops
| Protoclepsydrops Temporal range: Late Carboniferous, 312 Ma | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Amniota |
| Clade: | Synapsida (?) |
| Genus: | †Protoclepsydrops Carroll, 1964 |
| Type species | |
| †Protoclepsydrops haplous Carroll, 1964 | |
Protoclepsydrops was an early amniote, 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
- List of synapsids
- Evolution of mammals
- List of transitional fossils
- Carboniferous tetrapods
- Clepsydrops
References
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.
External links
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