Pholiderpeton

Fol-e-der-pe-ton.
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Lilah Turner

Evolutionary Biologist

Lilah Turner investigates how prehistoric animals adapted to changing environments, offering insights into evolution's mechanisms.

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Name

Pholiderpeton.

Phonetic

Fol-e-der-pe-ton.

Named By

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Tetrapoda,‭ ‬Reptiliomorpha,‭ ‬Embolomeri,‭ ‬Eogyrinidae.

Diet

Carnivore/Piscivore.

Species

P.‭ ‬scutigerum‭

Size

Between 2 and 4.6 meters long, depending upon species.

Known locations

England,‭ ‬Yorkshire.

Time Period

Westphalian of the Carboniferous.

Fossil representation

Skull and forward portion of the post cranial skeleton.

In Depth

       Pholiderpeton was a genus of semi aquatic reptiliomorph that lived in England during the Carboniferous period.‭ ‬However,‭ ‬in recent time there has been speculation that Pholiderpeton and another well-known genus named Eogyrinus may actually represent the same genus of animal.‭ ‬If this is true then the first genus to be named would take priority,‭ ‬and in this case that you be Pholiderpeton,‭ ‬since it was named thirty years before Eogyrinus.‭ ‬This‭ ‬might also call for a change to‭ ‬the family name the Eogyrinidae,‭ ‬since you usually can’t call a family group of animals after a genus that no longer exists.

       As an actual animal,‭ ‬Pholiderpeton had a proportionately long and narrow body with greatly reduced limbs.‭ ‬This body form meant that Pholiderpeton could easily navigate through the clogged swamps and water systems as it hunted for other vertebrates such as fish and amphibians.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬Pholiderpeton scutigerum Huxley,‭ ‬an amphibian from the Yorkshire Coal Measures.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London,‭ ‬Series B‭ ‬318‭(‬1188‭)‬:‭ ‬1-107.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Jennifer A.‭ ‬Clack‭ ‬-‭ ‬1987.

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