Westlothiana

Name: Westlothiana‭ (‬From Westlothian‭)‬.
Phonetic: West-low-thee-an-a.
Named By: Smithson and Rolfe‭ ‬-‭ ‬1990.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Amphibia,‭ ‬Reptiliomorpha,‭ ‬Eureptilia,‭ ‬Captorhinidae‭ (‬Precise classification is still not certain‭)‬.
Species: W.‭ ‬lizziae (type).
Diet: Carnivore/Insectivore.
Size: 20‭ ‬centimeteres long.
Known locations: Scotland,‭ ‬Westlothian.
Time period: Carboniferous.
Fossil representation: Two almost complete skeletons.

       Westlothiana has caused some confusion among researchers as to whether it should be called reptile or amphibian.‭ ‬While it does have some reptilian features such as no otic notch and unfused ankle bones,‭ ‬the main skeletal structure has features that are reminiscent of the early terrestrial amphibians.‭ ‬This has led to the term‭ ‘‬primitive amniote‭’‬,‭ ‬and as such Westlothiana would mark the evolutionary precursor to the creatures that would be regarded as true reptiles.
       The overall morphology of Westlothiana was probably very similar to today‭’‬s lizards,‭ ‬and it probably lived among the forest litter hunting for small invertebrates.‭

Further reading
- Westlothiana gen. nov. :naming the earliest known reptile. Scottish Journal of Geology no 26, pp 137–138. - T. R. Smithson & W. D. I. Rolfe - 1990.
- Westlothiana lizziae from the Vis�an of East Kirkton, West Lothian, Scotland, and the amniote stem. - Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 84 (3–4): 383–412. - S. M. Andrews - 1993.



----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Random favourites