A Mississippian (early Carboniferous) tetrapod showing early diversification of the hindlimbs.
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Publication Date
2022-04-14Journal Title
Communications biology
ISSN
2399-3642
Volume
5
Issue
1
Language
eng
Type
Article
This Version
VoR
Metadata
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Clack, J. A., Smithson, T. R., & Ruta, M. (2022). A Mississippian (early Carboniferous) tetrapod showing early diversification of the hindlimbs.. Communications biology, 5 (1) https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-022-03199-x
Abstract
The taxonomically diverse terrestrial tetrapod fauna from the late Mississippian East Kirkton Limestone includes the earliest known members of stem Amphibia and stem Amniota. Here we name and describe a new East Kirkton tetrapod with an unusual hindlimb morphology reminiscent of that of several stem- and primitive crown amniotes. It displays a unique ilium with two slender and elongate processes and a 5-digit pes with a long, stout metatarsal IV and a greatly elongate digit IV. The new taxon broadens our knowledge of East Kirkton tetrapods, adding to the remarkable diversity of their hindlimb constructions, functional specializations, locomotory modes, and adaptations to a wide variety of substrates. An unweighted character parsimony analysis places the new taxon in a polytomy alongside some other Carboniferous groups. Conversely, weighted parsimony and Bayesian analyses retrieve it among the earliest diverging stem amniotes, either as the basalmost anthracosaur or within a clade that includes also Eldeceeon and Silvanerpeton, crownward of an array of chroniosaurs plus anthracosaurs.
Keywords
Hindlimb, Animals, Bayes Theorem, Phylogeny, Fossils, Biological Evolution
Sponsorship
John Templeton Foundation (JTF) (61408)
Identifiers
35422092, PMC9010477
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-022-03199-x
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/337217
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