Embolomeres Temporal range: Early Carboniferous - Early Triassic |
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Restoration of Archeria from the Lower Permian of Texas. | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Reptiliomorpha |
Clade: | Anthracosauria |
Order: |
†Embolomeri Cope, 1885 |
Subgroups | |
Embolomeri is a suborder of Reptiliomorpha. Embolomeres first evolved from reptile-like amphibians in the Early Carboniferous (Mississippian). They were strongly specialised brackish or marine creatures, fish-eating and with long bodies for undulating swimming.
Unlike many of the other reptiliomorphs, the Embolomeri survived the Permian-Triassic extinction event that wiped out around 90% of all life on Earth, possibly due to their specialised lifestyle. They later became extinct by the end of Early Triassic epoch. Each of its vertebral centra is made of 2 cylinders, the pleurocentrum and the intercentrum.
Below is a cladogram from Ruta et al. (2003):