Discosauriscus
| Discosauriscus Temporal range:
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|---|---|
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| Discosauriscus austriacus | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Order: | †Seymouriamorpha |
| Family: | †Discosauriscidae |
| Genus: | †Discosauriscus Kuhn, 1933 |
| Species | |
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| Synonyms | |
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Discosauriscus was a small seymouriamorph[1] which lived in what is now Central and Western Europe during the latest Carboniferous[2] and in the Early Permian Period. Its best fossils have been found in the Broumov and Bačov Formations of Boskovice Furrow, in the Czech Republic.
Classification
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Discosauriscus belongs to the order Seymouriamorpha, and is the type genus of the family Discosauriscidae. Currently recognised are two valid species - Discosauriscus austriacus and Discosauriscus pulcherrimus. Letoverpeton is a junior synonym of Discosauriscus.[3]
Characteristics
[edit | edit source]Discosauriscids were long thought to be known from larval or neotenic forms,[4] and three ontogenetic stages had been distinguished.[5] However, more recent studies concluded that some subadult, probably terrestrial specimens were known,[6][7] so the case for neoteny in this taxon is not as well-supported as once thought. Discosauriscus had wide jaws with sharp teeth, short limbs and relatively long tail.[8] The phalangeal formula was 2-3-4-5-3 for both hind- and forelimbs. The body was covered with rounded scales with concentric rings, and a well-preserved lateral-line system has been described.[5]
Discosauriscus may have had electroreceptive organs.[9]
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Panchen, A. L. and Smithson, T. R. 1988. The relationships of the earliest tetrapods. Pp. 1–32 in Benton, M. J. (ed), The Phylogeny and Classification of the Tetrapods, Volume 1: Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds. Clarendon Press, Oxford.
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- ^ Carroll, R.L. 1988. Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution, pp 176. WH Freeman and Company, New York Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Klembara, Jozef. 1996. Discosauriscus. Version 1 January 1996. http://tolweb.org/Discosauriscus/17544/1996.01.01 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/
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- ^ dinosaurier-news - Discosauriscus: Ein Amphibium aus der Permzeit Archived 8 July 2012 at archive.today
- ^ Klembara, J, Electroreceptors in the Lower Permian tetrapod Discosauriscus austriacus, Palaeontology, Vol 37, part 3, (1994)
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