Eocaecilia

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Eocaecilia
Temporal range: Early Jurassic, 199.6–175.6Ma
3D scan of the holotype skull
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: "Amphibia" (wide sense)
Order: Gymnophiona
Genus: †Eocaecilia
Jenkins and Walsh, 1993
Type species
†Eocaecilia micropodia
Jenkins and Walsh, 1993

Eocaecilia is an extinct genus of caecilian (limbless amphibian) from the Early Jurassic Period in Arizona, USA.[1] One species is described, Eocaecilia micropodia.[2]

Restoration

Eocaecilia shared some characteristics with salamanders and the now extinct Microsauria. It was of small size, about 15 cm in length. Unlike modern caecilians, which are legless, Eocaecilia possessed small legs, and while modern caecilians have poorly developed eyes and spend a lot of time under ground, Eocaecilia's eyes were somewhat better well-developed. Although the precise ancestry of Eocaecilia is debated (and other caecilians by extension), it likely resided among the ancestral lepospondyl[3][4][5] or temnospondyl[6][7] amphibians of the Paleozoic and Mesozoic.

References

  1. ↑ Martín, C. & Sanchiz, B. (2014). "Eocaecilia". Lisanfos KMS. Version 1.2. Online reference accessible at http://www.lisanfos.mncn.csic.es/. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, MNCN-CSIC, Madrid (Spain). Retrieved 13 January 2014. 
  2. ↑ Martín, C. & Sanchiz, B. (2014). "Eocaecilia micropodia". Lisanfos KMS. Version 1.2. Online reference accessible at http://www.lisanfos.mncn.csic.es/. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, MNCN-CSIC, Madrid (Spain). Retrieved 13 January 2014. 
  3. ↑ Jenkins, F.A. & Walsh, D.M. (1993) An Early Jurassic caecilian with limbs. Nature 365: 246-250.
  4. ↑ Huttenlocker, A. K.; Pardo, J. D.; Small, B. J.; Anderson, J. S. (2013). "Cranial morphology of recumbirostrans (Lepospondyli) from the Permian of Kansas and Nebraska, and early morphological evolution inferred by micro-computed tomography". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 33 (3): 540. doi:10.1080/02724634.2013.728998
  5. ↑ Anderson, J. S.; Reisz, R. R.; Scott, D.; Fröbisch, N. B.; Sumida, S. S. (2008). "A stem batrachian from the Early Permian of Texas and the origin of frogs and salamanders". Nature 453 (7194): 515–518. doi:10.1038/nature06865
  6. ↑ Jenkins, F.A. et al. (2007) Anatomy of Eocaecilia micropodia, A Limbed Caecilian of the Early Jurassic. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 158(6):285-365.
  7. ↑ Maddin H.C., Jenkins F.A. Jr. & Anderson J.S. (2012) The Braincase of Eocaecilia micropodia (Lissamphibia, Gymnophiona) and the Origin of Caecilians. PLoS ONE 7(12):e50743.


External links

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