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
_c_, carpus; _cl_, clavicle; _cr_, caudal rib; _cv_, caudal vertebra; _f_,
femur; _h_, humerus: _il_, ilium; _s_, skin: _or_, orbit: _r_, radius;
_ul_, ulna; _sc_, scapula; _sp_, sclerotic plates; _t_, tibia and fibula;
_ts_, tarsus; _vs_, ventral scutellæ. Specimen No. 794, Yale University
Museum.]
The Yale specimen has, very well preserved, a portion of the ventral
scutellæ, of the throat, chest, and belly. The arrangement of the plates
on the throat and chest is almost exactly the reverse of what Credner has
described (190) for _Branchiosaurus amblystomus_ Cred. On the throat, in
the present form, the chevron points anteriorly, and it is the anterior
prolongation of the belly scutes with the postero-lateral projection of
the gular scutes which form the chest and arm scutellation. The belly
chevrons point anteriorly, as in _Branchiosaurus_, the rods formed by the
scutes being straight and not curved as in _Branchiosaurus_. The entire
ventral armature preserved is displaced to the left of the animal and only
the anterior portion is preserved.
The pectoral girdle is only partially known. The scapula is
crescent-shaped. The other elements are indicated only by fragments and
nothing is known of their form.
The arm elements are nearly all known. The humerus is slender and expanded
at the ends, with its articular surfaces well developed. The separate
radius and ulna are of approximately the same size and length. The
carpus is unossified. The complete phalangeal formula for the hand of
_Amphibamus_ is unknown. The third digit seems to have 4 elements. The
formula 2-2-3-2 has been suggested (462).
The pelvis is very satisfactorily known. The ilium is a long, slender,
straight rod, with expanded ends. The ischium is shown on both sides of
the vertebral column in the Yale specimen. Its form is almost identical
with that of _Paleohatteria longicaudata_ Credner, from the Rothliegenden
of Saxony. The ischia are apparently approximate in the median line,
though this character is somewhat obscured by the impression of the
caudal vertebræ. Their relation with the ilium, other than that they
were posterior to it, is uncertain. The pubis is, apparently, calcified
cartilage. It is a squarish plate, somewhat corrugated, lying anterior
to the ilium in the Daniels specimen. The elements of the pelvis were
undoubtedly hung loosely in the flesh, as in modern salamanders, since
there is no indication of articular surfaces.
The hind limb is well known, the type having a nearly complete leg with
the foot. The Daniels and the Yale specimens supplement and substantiate
the type. The femur is longer than the humerus, but more slender, with its
articular surfaces about as well developed as in the humerus. The element
is a simple rod of bone without muscular crests of any kind. The tibia
and fibula are, likewise, slender separate rods of bone. The tarsus is
unossified. The phalangeal formula is 2-2-3-4-3, and is fairly definite.
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