The Coal Measures Amphibia of North AmericaMoodie, Roy Lee
Science
The Coal Measures Amphibia of North America
Moodie, Roy Lee
Amphibians, Fossil -- North America; Paleontology -- Carboniferous; Paleontology -- North America
The specimen described under the above name is a representative of the
smallest species of the Microsauria so far described from North America.
_Orthocosta microscopica_ Fritsch, from the Carboniferous of Bohemia,
is a rival of the present form in size, but the form described by
Fritsch is an entirely different animal and was formerly included among
the so-called Aistopoda, which are regarded by the writer as merely
specialized microsaurians. The present form shows clear affinities with
the Microsauria.
As may be seen by referring to the list of measurements, the skull of this
form measures only 6.5 mm. in length. The form may possibly be larval,
though I do not think so, if I may judge from the well-developed condition
of the skull bones and the complete ossification of the vertebræ. The
sides of the skull are equal and the occiput is a straight table, so that
the skull forms almost an exact equilateral triangle. The orbits are very
small and are placed well forward. The interorbital space is four times
that of the diameter of the orbit, a very unusual character and in itself
worthy of ranking as a generic character. The median suture of the skull
is zigzag and incloses the minute parietal foramen near the posterior
end of the skull. The relations of the elements of the skull, with the
exceptions of those of the frontals and parietals, can not be determined
with accuracy, although there are here and there indications of sutures.
The characters of the cranial elements, so far as they can be determined,
are those of the family Tuditanidæ, and the form may, for the present, be
regarded as a member of that group. The teeth are very long, slender, and
sharp, and are placed close together. There is no indication of fluting on
the teeth. They are slightly curved inward.
There are 13 vertebræ present. The centra are hour-glass shaped, and are
apparently phyllospondylous, with the notochord largely persistent. The
vertebral centra are unusually long and slender, with the ends rounded.
The humerus of the right side is preserved. It is a long, slender bone
with expanded extremities. There is no evidence of abdominal armature nor
of ribs (fig. 22, E).
The discovery of this form in the Linton deposits is of considerable
interest in that it indicates a wide range in size and character of the
fauna of the time. The forms now known from the Linton beds range from
Odonterpeton, which possibly had a total length of 2 inches in life, to
the form designated _Macrerpeton huxleyi_ Cope, with a skull of at least 8
inches in length and whose body may have attained a length of some feet.
The large rib described below undoubtedly indicates a large form of the
ancient Amphibia from Linton, as do also the vertebræ described by Marsh
in 1863 from Nova Scotia.
Measurements of the Type.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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