| Ariekanerpeton Temporal range: Early Permian |
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|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| (unranked): | Reptiliomorpha |
| Family: | †Discosauriscidae |
| Genus: | †Ariekanerpeton Ivakhnenko, 1981 |
| Species | |
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A.sigalovi Ivakhnenko, 1981 (type) |
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Ariekanerpeton is an extinct genus of Seymouriamorpha from the lower Permian. Fossils have been found from Tadzhikistan representing over 900 individuals of various stages of ontogenic development[1]. However, it is thought that none of these specimens are of fully mature animals as poor bone ossification is present and the neural arches are paired and disarticulated from the pleurocentra[2].
Ariekanerpeton is thought to have been more closely related to Discosauriscus and Seymouria than to Utegenia due to the absence of gastralia or a postorbital-supratemporal contact. However, it is not a member of the family Discosauriscidae or the family Seymouriidae. There are no dermal scales present on post-metamorphic specimens as there are on Discosauriscus[3]. Lateral lines are present in the skulls of larval individuals but are lost soon after metamorphosis. Unlike Utegenia and Discosauriscus, Ariekanerpeton is thought to have inhabited relatively arid environments[4].