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 impression of the larger animal (No. 803, Yale University Museum),
which is probably an adult, presents the following elements: the entire
skull, both humeri, impressions of posterior and anterior ventral
armature, portions of the alimentary canal, one femur, portions of a
fibula and tibia, and the entire impression of the tail, on which, as in
_Micrerpeton caudatum_, there occur two definite dark lines, one beginning
at the tip of the tail and running obliquely along the tail to where the
impression is broken at the anal region; the other beginning at a distance
of 4.5 mm. from the tip and running almost parallel with the median line.
These two lines undoubtedly represent the lateral-line system.
The skull is especially noted for its shortness and the great posterior
width, as well as for the almost entire absence of the tympanic notch.
The pineal foramen is located on a line with the posterior border of the
orbits. The eyes themselves are narrow and acuminate at each end, with a
pronounced convexity inwards and a flattening on the outer margin. They
are located on the very border of the skull, but relatively more posterior
than in _Micrerpeton_. No sclerotic plates are evident. The median suture
can be indistinctly observed running the entire length of the skull. The
sutures bounding the outside of the f rentals and the squamosals are
partially evident, but not satisfactorily preserved. The mandible is
represented by a mold which in wax impression shows short, stumpy teeth.
Posterior to the skull at a distance of a millimeter there are two sharp
impressions which may represent the anterior edges of the interclavicle
or they may be branchial elements. They are distinctly curved, however,
and probably represent portions of the interclavicle. A wax impression
does not show a discrete structure, but the boundaries of some larger
element. No other remains of the pectoral girdle can be discerned. The
humeri are short and relatively thick. Wax impressions show them to have
had truncate or slightly concave ends, thus indicating the absence or
slight development of the endochondrium. No other elements of the arm are
preserved.
The impression of an elongate femur and the heads of the tibia and fibula
of the left side are preserved.
The ventral armature is preserved in two small patches, and these show
the chevron-shaped rods to have been very fine much more delicate than in
_Micrerpeton_.
The body impression is very instructive and interesting, both in showing
the form of the body and because in it are preserved the larger portions
of the alimentary canal. The form of the body can best be discerned by
reference to the figures (plate 3, figs. 1 and 2; plate 5, fig. 1).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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