Name:
Beiyanerpeton
(Beiyan creeper).
Phonetic: Bay-yan-er-pe-ton.
Named By: Ke-Qin Gao & Neil H. Shubin
- 2012.
Classification: Chordata, Amphibia,
Salamandroidea.
Species: B. jianpingensis
(type).
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Holotype measures about 16.5 centimetres
long but is lacking the posterior portion of the tail. In life
roughly about 20-25 centimetres long.
Known locations: China, Liaoning Province -
Tiaojishan (Lanqi) Formation.
Time period: Oxfordian of the Jurassic.
Fossil representation: Almost complete individual,
though lacking some parts.
Beiyanerpeton was a small salamander-like amphibian that lived in China during the Jurassic. As such it is expected to have been like a modern day salamander in terms of ecological niche, though of course with the addition of possibly being occasional prey to small carnivorous dinosaurs.
Further reading
- Late Jurassic salamandroid from western Liaoning, China -
Ke-Qin Gao & Neil H. Shubin - 2012.