Colosteus Temporal range: Late Carboniferous, | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Sarcopterygii |
Clade: | Tetrapodomorpha |
Family: | † Colosteidae |
Genus: | † Colosteus Cope, 1871 |
Species: | †C. scutellatus |
Binomial name | |
†Colosteus scutellatus | |
Synonyms | |
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Colosteus is an extinct genus of colosteid tetrapod from the Late Carboniferous (late Westphalian stage) of Ohio. Its remains have been found at the Linton site in Saline Township, Ohio, where it is one of the most common tetrapods, [1] and at the Five Points site in Mahoning County, Ohio. [2] It was an elongate, aquatic form with a flattened and pointed head, greatly reduced limbs, two premaxillary tusks, and heavy scalation. [3] It would have reached about 1 m (3.2 ft) in length. [4]
It was originally described by John Strong Newberry in 1856 as a new species of the palaeonisciform fish genus Pygopterus . In 1869, Edward Drinker Cope erected a new genus of "batrachian", Colosteus, containing the species C. crassicutatus, C. foveatus, and C. marshii, based on Linton material lent to him by Newberry. Cope later realized that the holotype of his Colosteus crassicutatus was also the holotype of Newberry's earlier Pygopterus scutellatus, and combined the two as Colosteus scutellatus. Colosteus foveatus was later determined to be a junior synonym of Isodectes obtusus, and Colosteus marshii was given its own genus, Ptyonius . [3]
Orthacanthus is an extinct genus of fresh-water xenacanthiform elasmobranch, named by Louis Agassiz in 1843, ranging from the Upper Carboniferous into the Lower Permian. Orthacanthus had a nektobenthic life habitat, with a carnivorous diet. Multiple authors have also discovered evidence of cannibalism in the diet of Orthacanthus and of "filial cannibalism" where adult Orthacanthus preyed upon juvenile Orthacanthus. Synonyms of the genus Orthacanthus are Dittodus Owen, 1867, Didymodus Cope, 1883, Diplodus Agassiz, 1843, Chilodus Giebel, 1848.
Ctenospondylus is an extinct genus of sphenacodontid synapsid
Anthracosaurus is an extinct genus of embolomere that lived during the Late Carboniferous in what is now Scotland, England, and Ohio. It was a large, aquatic eel-like predator. It has a robust skull about 40 centimetres (1.3 ft) in length with large teeth in the jaws and on the roof of the mouth. Anthracosaurus probably inhabited swamps, rivers and lakes. Its name is Greek for "coal lizard".
Megalocephalus is an extinct genus of baphetid amphibian from the late Carboniferous of the British Isles and the United States (Ohio). It contains two species, M. pachycephalus and M. lineolatus.
The Allegheny Group, often termed the Allegheny Formation, is a Pennsylvanian-age geological unit in the Appalachian Plateau. It is a major coal-bearing unit in the eastern United States, extending through western and central Pennsylvania, western Maryland and West Virginia, and southeastern Ohio. Fossils of fishes such as Bandringa are known from the Kittaning Formation, which is part of the Allegheny Group.
Acherontiscus is an extinct genus of stegocephalians that lived in the Early Carboniferous of Scotland. The type and only species is Acherontiscus caledoniae, named by paleontologist Robert Carroll in 1969. Members of this genus have an unusual combination of features which makes their placement within amphibian-grade tetrapods uncertain. They possess multi-bone vertebrae similar to those of embolomeres, but also a skull similar to lepospondyls. The only known specimen of Acherontiscus possessed an elongated body similar to that of a snake or eel. No limbs were preserved, and evidence for their presence in close relatives of Acherontiscus is dubious at best. Phylogenetic analyses created by Marcello Ruta and other paleontologists in the 2000s indicate that Acherontiscus is part of Adelospondyli, closely related to other snake-like animals such as Adelogyrinus and Dolichopareias. Adelospondyls are traditionally placed within the group Lepospondyli due to their fused vertebrae. Some analyses published since 2007 have argued that adelospondyls such as Acherontiscus may not actually be lepospondyls, instead being close relatives or members of the family Colosteidae. This would indicate that they evolved prior to the split between the tetrapod lineage that leads to reptiles (Reptiliomorpha) and the one that leads to modern amphibians (Batrachomorpha). Members of this genus were probably aquatic animals that were able to swim using snake-like movements.
Odonterpeton is an extinct genus of "microsaur" from the Late Carboniferous of Ohio, containing the lone species Odonterpeton triangulare. It is known from a single partial skeleton preserving the skull, forelimbs, and the front part of the torso. The specimen was found in the abandoned Diamond Coal Mine of Linton, Ohio, a fossiliferous coal deposit dated to the late Moscovian stage, about 310 million years ago.
Platyrhinops is an extinct genus amphibamid temnospondyl from the Late Carboniferous of Ohio and the Czech Republic. It is known from many partial skeletons from the Linton site in Saline Township, Ohio and at least 6 partial specimens from the Nýřany site from the Nýřany Member of the Kladno Formation in the Czech Republic.
Stegops is an extinct genus of euskelian temnospondyl from the Late Carboniferous of the eastern United States. Fossils are known from the Pennsylvanian coal deposits of Linton, Ohio. It was once classified in the eryopoid family Zatrachydidae because it and other zatrachydids have spikes extending from the margins of its skull, but it is now classified as a dissorophoid that independently evolved spikes. Stegops was first named by American paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope in 1885, with his description of the type species Stegops divaricata. Cope had also named a species of Sauropleura from Linton in 1875, which he called Sauropleura newberryi. This species was later synonymized with Stegops divaricata when the type specimen of S. newberryi was prepared and found to be a large specimen of Stegops.
The Westphalian is a regional stage or age in the regional stratigraphy of northwest Europe, with an age between roughly 315 and 307 Ma. It is a subdivision of the Carboniferous System or Period and the regional Silesian Series. The Westphalian is named for the region of Westphalia in western Germany where strata of this age occur. The Coal Measures of England and Wales are also largely of Westphalian age, though they also extend into the succeeding Stephanian.
Kyrinion is an extinct genus of baphetid tetrapodomorph from the Late Carboniferous of England. It is known from a skull that was found in Tyne and Wear county dating back to the Westphalian stage. Along with the skull is part of the lower jaw, an arch of the atlas bone and a rib possibly belonging to a cervical (neck) vertebra. The type species K. martilli was named from this material in 2003.
Adamanterpeton is a genus of Edopoid Temnospondyl within the family Cochleosauridae. The type species A. ohioensis was named in 1998 and is currently the only known species within this genus. Adamanterpeton is rare in the Linton vertebrate assemblage, with other amphibians like Sauropleura, Ophiderpeton, and Colosteus being more common. Unlike other Linton vertebrates, Adamanterpeton may have been adapted to a terrestrial lifestyle.
Coelostegus is an extinct genus of Late Carboniferous basal reptile known from Pilsen of Czech Republic. It is known from the holotype ČGH 3027, a partial skeleton of an immature individual. It was collected in the Nýřany site from the Nýřany Member of the Kladno Formation. It was first named by Robert L. Carroll and Donald Baird in 1972 and the type species is Coelostegus prothales. The most recent phylogenic study of primitive reptile relationships found Coelostegus to be the basalmost known eureptile.
Brouffia is an extinct genus of Late Carboniferous basal reptile known from Pilsen of Czech Republic. It is known from a single partial skeleton, the holotype ČGH III B.21.C.587 and MP 451. It was collected in the Nýřany site from the Nýřany Member of the Kladno Formation. It was first named by Robert L. Carroll and Donald Baird in 1972 and the type species is Brouffia orientalis.
Anthracodromeus is an extinct genus of Late Carboniferous "protorothyridid" eureptile known from Ohio. It is known from the holotype AMNH 6940, a nearly complete skeleton. It was collected in the Linton site in Jefferson County, from the Allegheny Group. A. longipes was first assigned by Edward Drinker Cope in 1875 to a species of Sauropleura. The genus was first named by Robert L. Carroll and Donald Baird in 1972 and the type species is Anthracodromeus longipes. It is amongst the oldest known tetrapods to display adaptations for climbing.
Cephalerpeton is an extinct genus of "protorothyridid" eureptile known from the Late Carboniferous of Illinois.
Eusauropleura is an extinct genus of gephyrostegid reptiliomorph from the Pennsylvanian of Linton, Ohio. The type species and only species, Eusauropleura digitata, was first described by American paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope in 1868 as Sauropleura digitata. In 1930, paleontologist Alfred Romer placed the species in the new genus Eusauropleura. Romer considered S. digitata to be a reptile or a more primitive relative of reptiles, making it only distantly related to Sauropleura, which is a lepospondyl amphibian.
Yellow Creek is an unincorporated community in Saline Township, Jefferson County, Ohio, United States. It is located northwest of Hammondsville at the intersection of Ohio State Route 7 and Ohio State Route 213 where the Yellow Creek empties into the Ohio River, at 40°34′28″N80°40′03″W.
Carbonodraco is an extinct genus of acleistorhinid parareptile known from the Late Carboniferous of Ohio. It contains a single species, Carbonodraco lundi. It was closely related to Colobomycter, a parareptile from the early Permian of Oklahoma. Carbonodraco is the oldest known parareptile, and is slightly older than Erpetonyx, the previously oldest known parareptile. Specimens of Carbonodraco are limited to skull and jaw fragments found at the Ohio Diamond Coal mine in Linton, Ohio. These include the holotype specimen and two referred specimens. Several of the Carbonodraco specimens were previously referred to the Carboniferous eureptile Cephalerpeton by Reisz & Baird (1983). They were recognized as a distinct species in a 2019 study by Mann et al.
Macrerpeton is a genus of edopoid temnospondyl within the family Cochleosauridae. It contains a single species, Macrerpeton huxleyi. It was discovered in the fossil-rich Allegheny Formation of Linton, Ohio.