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
It is estimated, from the portions preserved, that the animal attained
a length of not less than 3 feet and its body was long and slender. It
may have had an appearance similar to the modern caudate genus _Siren_,
though there were doubtless 4 limbs present instead of 2. The slenderness
of the body is at variance with the condition found in the type species
_Ichthyerpeton bradleyæ_ Huxley, in which the trunk was rather stoutly
built. The character of the anterior portion of the body in the present
species can not be determined and the skull is wanting. There are no
evidences of anterior limbs, although the ventral scutellation preserved
would seem to include the pectoral region. No pectoral shields are
preserved, nor are there any traces of pelvic girdle or limbs.
The preserved portions on one block include nearly the entire tail and the
posterior region of the body, and on the other block the dorsal region of
the body and the anterior portion of the tail, so that the two specimens
supplement each other in an interesting manner. There are impressions of
several vertebræ preserved. They are much the same in character as Huxley
has described for the type species (_I. bradleyæ_). They are short and
thick and were probably amphicœlous. There are likewise preserved the
remains of rather slender recurved ribs mingled in with the remains of the
ventral scutellation and distinguished from the elements of the abdominal
shield by their size and curvature. They are, apparently, single-headed,
but the character of their articulation can not be determined. The ventral
scutellation consists of fine continuous rods arranged in the regular
chevron pattern. They do not seem to be divided into oat-shaped scutes,
as is the case with the form described by Huxley. The ventral rods are
closely packed for a distance of more than 6 inches, but as they are
scattered their exact arrangement can not be determined. They seem to
have extended to the cloacal region, but there are no evidences of the
specialized clasping organs such as Fritsch (251) has described in the
ventral scutellæ of _Ophiderpeton_. The scales, which are well preserved
on the tail, may have covered the entire body, since there are many
scattered scales in the dorsal region of one of the specimens. They are
slightly oval, tuberculate, and measure scarcely 1 mm. in their longest
diameter. They show but slight evidences of having been imbricated,
though it is likewise possible that they were simply inclosed within the
integument, and somewhat separated from one another. The most posterior
part of the tail preserved seems to indicate that the tip was attenuated.
It was probably flattened from side to side. We may thus regard
_Ichthyerpeton squamosum_ as an elongate aquatic animal with a long,
flattened tail, and since there were possibly no limbs or very small ones,
it would be an animal highly adapted for life in the water. The present
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