Ariekanerpeton

Ariekanerpeton
Temporal range: Early Permian 284Ma
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Order: †Seymouriamorpha
Family: †Discosauriscidae
Genus: †Ariekanerpeton
Ivakhnenko, 1981
Species

A.sigalovi Ivakhnenko, 1981 (type)

Ariekanerpeton is an extinct genus of Seymouriamorpha from the lower Permian. Fossils have been found from Tajikistan 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]

References

  1. ↑ Ivakhnenko, M. F. (1981). Discosauriscidae from the Permian of Tadzhikistan. Paleontological Journal 1:114–128.
  2. ↑ http://tolweb.org/Ariekanerpeton_sigalovi/17545
  3. ↑ Laurin, M. (1996). A Reevaluation of Ariekanerpeton, a Lower Permian Seymouriamorph (Vertebrata: Seymouriamorpha) from Tadzhikistan. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 16(4):653-665
  4. ↑ Malakhov, D. M. (200). The topography of the lateral line organs on the skull of Utegenia shpinari. Biota 1(2):21-26.