Taxa on This Page

1. Diplovertebron X
2. Embolomeri X
3. Eogyrinidae X
4. Pholiderpeton X
5. Pholidogaster X
6. Proterogyrinus X

Pteroplax cornutus Hancock and Atthby 1868, (family Eogyrinidae)

life reconstruction, by Dmitry Bogdanov (Larger image (Wikipedia))

Descriptions

Embolomeri: Archeria,
Pholiderpeton, Proterogyrinus.

Range: Early Carboniferous to

Early Triassic (fl. Late
Carboniferous) of North America, Europe (Scotland) & Russia.

Phylogeny: Anthracosauroidea : Gephyrostegidae + Eoherpeton + * : (Proterogyrinus +

Pholidogaster) + Eogyrinidae.
Characters: Specialized, long-bodied, piscivorous marine anthracosaurs; short skull table
with kinetic line [C02]; prominent tabular horn [C02]; cheek extends well posterior to
occiput [C02]; very loose junction between quadrate and quadrate ramus of pterygoid [C02];
elongated trunk (e.g. 40 vertebrae); both pleurocentra and intercentra developed as cylinders;
some with caudal fin (i.e. caudal supraneural radials as in fish) [C02].

Image: Proterogyrinus scheeleri from Holmes (1984).

Note: see figure and note under Anthracosauroidea.

Links: Phylogenetic position of the Embolomeri; Biology 356; Phylogeny of

stegocephalians; Embolomeri.

References: Clack (2002) [C02]. ATW020128.

Proterogyrinus: P. pancheni Smithson

1986; P. scheeleri Romer 1970.

Range: Early Carboniferous of North

America & Europe (Scotland).

Phylogeny: Embolomeri ::
Pholidogaster + *.

Characters: kinetic line present; neck short; 32 presacral vertebrae; vertebrae not fully
embolomerous (see figure at Anthracosauroidea); tail laterally flattened; phalangeal formula
23453;

Note: [1] Proterogyrinus was a primitive semi-aquatic embolomere able to manage well both
on land and in the water. It had well-developed limbs and a short neck and relatively short
trunk, with 32 presacral vertebrae. The tail is flattened to aid in swimming. As with lobe-
fined fish (osteolepiforms), there is a line of weakness between the skull table (the flat area at
the back of the skull) and the cheek area, which allowed the skull to flex during jaw-opening.
A notch at the back of the skull may have contained an eardrum, but the large bladelike stapes
of primitive anthracosaurs are quite different to the narrow rod-like structure of animals with
an ear adapted to detected sound in air. P. pancheni is the Scottish form, known from both
the Dora Bone Bed near Cowdenbeath, Fife and the Lothian Region. P. scheeleri (see figure
above, at Embolomeri) was recovered from the Bickett Shale, Bluefield Formation from
Greer, West Virginia, USA. Both are of Serpukhovian age, although the American form is
somewhat older. MAK981010. [2] note the still somewhat fish-like tail in the figure at
Embolomeri. Clack (2002) compares this structure to Eusthenepteron and Acanthostega to
make the argument that the transformation proceeded from anterior to posterior -- hox order.
However, the argument is at least as strong that the transformation proceeded from distal to
proximal (BMP or Shh order?).

Image: Proterogyrinus by Mike Coates.

Links: Transitional Vertebrate Fossils FAQ: Part 1B; Historick vvoj (Czech).
ATW020621.

Pholidogaster: P. pisciformes.

Range: Early Carboniferous of Scotland

Phylogeny: Embolomeri :: Proterogyrinus + *.

Pholidogaster pisciformis Huxley

Adult Length: over 1 metre long
Duration: Early Carboniferous (late Visean to early Serpukhovian)
Region: equatorial Euramerica
Fossil remains: from Ironstone at Gilmerton, near Edinburugh
Comments: Trunk very long and slender, the limbs are small and feeble. The pectoral arch
apparently far back. There is a strong ventral (belly) armour of scutes.

Eogyrinidae: Palaeoherpeton,
Pteroplax

Range: Late Carboniferous to Middle

Permian of Europe & North America.

Phylogeny: Embolomeri :
(Proterogyrinus + Pholidogaster) + * :
Diplovertebron + Pholiderpeton.

Image: Diplovertebron (~60 cm).

Note: The eogyrinids were one of a number of lineages of relatively large, long-bodied
tetrapods that frequented late Carboniferous rivers and watercourses. MAK981014.

Links: Class:Amphibia. ATW020621.

Diplovertebron: D. punctatum Fritsch 1885

Range: Late Carboniferous (Moscovian?

Bashkirian?) of Europe & North America.

Phylogeny: Eogyrinidae : Pholiderpeton + *.

Image: a rather imaginative reconstruction from

Une page Web sur la priode jurassique / A web
page about jurassic period.
Links: Yale Peabody Museum: The Mural, Carboniferous & Devonian; Old, old reasons for
hatred; Carbonifero (Italian); La galerie de la page jurassique : la faune aquatique et terrestre
(French); ERA PALEOZICA (Spanish). ATW020621.

Pholiderpeton: (= Eogyrinus)
P. atheyi Watson 1926, P
scutigerum Huxley ??

Range: Late Carboniferous

(Bashkirian [Westphalian B])

Phylogeny: Eogyrinidae :
Diplovertebron + *.

Characters: ~200 cm; skull

roof and palate only weakly
attached [C02]; massive stapes
[C02]; both pleurocentrum and
intercentrum complete
cylinders; anocleithrum
present [C02].

Image: Pholiderpeton, (A)

skull in dorsal view; (B) in
palatal view; and (C) life
reconstruction, from [C02], with (C) modified to show elements of internal skeletal features.

Links: Class-Amphibia

References: Clack (2002) [C02]. ATW030414.

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