Eucritta melanolimnetes
|
Eucritta Temporal range: Viséan 345.3–330.9 Ma |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Sarcopterygii |
| Clade: | Tetrapodomorpha |
| Superfamily: | †Baphetoidea |
| Genus: |
†Eucritta Clack, 1998 |
| Type species | |
|
Eucritta melanolimnetes Clack, 1998 |
|
Eucritta (meaning "true creature") is an genus of stem-tetrapod from the Viséan epoch in the Carboniferous period of Scotland. The name of the type and only species, E. melanolimnetes ("true creature from the black lagoon") is a homage to the 1954 horror film Creature from the Black Lagoon.
E. melanolimnetes was about 25 centimetres (9.8 in) long, and displayed mixed tetrapod characteristics, such as an amphibian-like skull and a reptilian palate. Its eye sockets were shaped like keyholes, with pointed openings at the front that may have contained a gland of unknown function. This characteristic is also seen in the Loxommatinae subfamily, in which Eucritta has been placed. However, its exact phylogenetic position is not known with much certainty due to its mixture of primitive and derived tetrapod characters. The possession of characters seen in baphetids, anthracosaurs, and temnospondyls suggests that these three groups diverged in the Carboniferous rather than earlier, in the Devonian. Five specimens have been found. Eucritta was described in 1998. It is a tetrapod.
...
Wikipedia