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
There is an impression anterior to the right humerus which may represent a
part of the pectoral girdle, but its form is so obscure that it can not be
determined. The pelvic girdle is entirely wanting in the specimen. Remains
of the fore and hind limbs are preserved. The arms are especially well
preserved and consist of a strong humerus, a separate radius and ulna, and
phalanges, the carpus having undoubtedly been cartilaginous, since there
are no traces of carpal bones. Wyman has figured a small ossicle (fig. 17)
which might be interpreted as a carpal, but it is further removed from the
carpal region than his figure shows and I would interpret it as a fragment
of a phalange, since the first digit seems to be turned aside over the
vertebral column. The right hand is but imperfectly preserved, but the
left hand is nearly entire. There are evidences of 4 digits, possibly 5.
The metacarpals are elongate and rather stout. The phalanges of the distal
series have been lost, so the phalangeal formula can not be determined.
On the whole, the hand has a very broad aspect and is not at all slender,
as in the majority of the microsaurians from the Coal Measures of Ohio.
It resembles in a great measure the broad hand of a toad and may thus be
indicative of a terrestrial life. The humerus is well developed and has
pronounced swellings, as though for the attachment of strong muscles.
These indications would favor the view of the animal being a land dweller.
The femur and a part of the tibia (?) of the right side are all there
is preserved of the hind limb. These elements show the leg to have been
quite long, though weaker than the fore limb. The femur has a large distal
articular surface. The fibula is, apparently, absent, though it may simply
be lost.
The genus _Pelion_ stands alone among the Carboniferous Amphibia. The
form can not be placed in the order Branchiosauria on account of the
well-developed limb bones and the large mandible. It may belong with
the Microsauria. I have placed it under the Salientia in the hope of
learning more about the early relatives of the tailless forms. There is
no assurance at all that it is even ancestral to the Salientia, but the
resemblances are striking.
The following gives the measurements of the type specimens:
Measurements of the Type Specimen.[B]
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