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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