Altenglanerpeton

Name: Altenglanerpeton ‭(‬Altenglan creeper‭).
Phonetic: Alt-en-glan-er-pe-ton.
Named By: S.‭ ‬Glienke‭ ‬-‭ ‬2012.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Amphibia,‭ ‬Recumbirostra.
Species: A.‭ ‬schroederi‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Probably carnivore.
Size: Uncertain due to incomplete remains.
Known locations: Germany‭ ‬-‭ ‬Altenglan Formation.‭
Time period: Late Carboniferous/Early Permian.
Fossil representation: Partial skull with vertebrae,‭ ‬ribs and parts of the pectoral girdle.

       The holotype specimen of Altenglanerpeton was first found during the‭ ‬1870s,‭ ‬and initially described as a specimen of the microsaur genus Microbrachis in‭ ‬1939.‭ ‬The specimen was not renamed as a new genus until‭ ‬2012‭ ‬after some debate over whether the specimen was actually that of a microsaur.‭
       In life Altenglanerpeton would have had a very slender‭ ‬body and greatly reduced limbs.‭ ‬This body type would have allowed Altenglanerpeton to swim by a lateral‭ (‬side to side‭) ‬undulation of the body while being able to navigate through weeds and submerged obstacles.‭ ‬The holotype specimen of Altenglanerpeton was recovered from a fossilised deposit of lake sediment,‭ ‬confirming that in life Altenglanerpeton probably spent much of its time in the water.‭ ‬Altenglanerpeton may be closely related to the genus Tambaroter.

Further reading
-‭ ‬A new‭ "‬microsaur‭" (‬Amphibia‭; ‬Lepospondyli‭) ‬from the Rotliegend of the Saar–Palatinate region‭ (‬Carboniferous/Permian transition‭; ‬West Germany‭) ‬-‭ ‬S.‭ ‬Glienke‭ ‬-‭ ‬2012.



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