Diplovertebron

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Diplovertebron Fossil range: Late Carboniferous
Conservation status
Fossil
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Amphibia Order: Anthracosauria Suborder: Embolomeri Family: Eogyrinidae Watson, 1929 Genus: Diplovertebron Fritsch, 1879

Diplovertebron is an extinct genus of amphibian (stegocephalian) that lived in the Late Carboniferous period (Moscovian) (300 million years ago). Diplovertebron was a medium-size animal, 60 cm in length.

Its skull produced a tapering triangle, like a small-scale replica of a crocodile's skull. The otic notches in the posterior part of the skull, which are normally present in primitive amphibians, were very small in Diplovertebron, but the structure of the vertebrae was very primitive and the notochord persisted into adulthood. The limbs were sturdy, but lightly built and had five digits. The carpal or 'wrist' and tarsal or 'ankle' bones were cartilaginous, and did not ossify. The limbs were used mainly in water, where hydrostatic pressure reduced the weight of the body.

Diplovertebron punctatum inhabited European Carboniferous swamps (nowadays Czech Republic), where it caught fish and smaller amphibians. Another, closely related species, lived in the Pennsylvanian period in North America. Diplovertebron is an important link in evolution, because its body structure resembled that of a reptile.

[edit] References

Benes, Josef. Prehistoric Animals and Plants. Pg. 80. Prague: Artia, 1979.