Albanerpetontidae

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Albanerpetontidae
Celtedens megacephalus from the Upper Lower Cretaceous of Italy

Celtedens megacephalus from the Upper Lower Cretaceous of Italy

Temporal occurrence
Middle Jurassic ( Bathonian ) to Pliocene ( Ruscinium )
168.3 to 3.4 million years
Locations
Systematics
Vertebrates (vertebrata)
Jaw mouths (Gnathostomata)
Land vertebrates (Tetrapoda)
Amphibians (Lissamphibia)
Allocaudata
Albanerpetontidae
Scientific name of the  order
Allocaudata
Fox & Naylor , 1982
Scientific name of the  family
Albanerpetontidae
Fox & Naylor , 1982

The Albanerpetontidae are an extinct family of modern amphibians (Lissamphibia). Fossils of these rather small animals are known from the Middle Jurassic to the Pliocene . They have been found in North America , Europe , Morocco, and Uzbekistan . The type genus is Albanerpeton .

features

Diversity of forms in the Frontalia of the Albanerpetontidae (each in ventral view; rostral end is at the top; not to scale): A)  Anoualerpeton , B)  Celtedens , C)  Wesserpeton , D)  Albanerpeton .

The representatives of the Albanerpetontidae had an elongated and flexible body and probably looked quite similar to today's salamanders . The trunk has very short ribs. The tail tapers sharply towards the rear and the limbs are strongly built. The combination of the following four features is considered to be specifically diagnostic for Albanerpetontiden:

  • The normally paired frontals are fused into a single, more or less triangular element in the interorbital area of ​​the roof of the skull (so-called azygic frontal ), which has a more or less clearly separated rostral extension, the processus internasalis.
  • The two branches of the lower jaw are firmly interlocked in the area of ​​the symphysis (intermandibular joint).
  • The teeth are three-pointed (tricuspid) and, in contrast to the typical condition of modern amphibians, not pedicellated. The tooth attachment is pleurodont.
  • The first two cervical vertebrae form a kind of atlas-axis complex, which superficially resembles that of mammals.

Systematics

External systematics and taxonomic history

Due to its resemblance to a salamander , the first Albanerpetontide was described in 1864 under the name Triton megacephalus (=  Celtedens megacephalus ). * It was not until the 1960s that the next specimens of Albanian petontids were found during excavations. These were isolated skull and long bones that were embedded together with isolated vertebrae from "real" salamanders. Consequently, all of the material as remnants of representatives was interpreted an extinct line of salamander and into its own family of salamanders found (Urodela or Caudata), the Prosirenidae, so initially the 1976 established species Albanerpeton . However, parts of the Albanian peton material were articulated (in an anatomical context), including vertebrae and skull bones. As a result, at the beginning of the 1980s, on the one hand, the erroneous assignment of the skull and long bones found in the 60s, which were now recognized as belonging to the genus Albanerpeton , could be corrected , and on the other hand it became clear that none of these bones were at all Remnants of salamanders are concerned, but a hitherto unknown line of development of the Lissamphibia, to which " Triton " megacephalus has now also been assigned. As a result, the Albanerpetontidae family was established, which was placed in its own order, the Allocaudata, in order to differentiate it from the tailed amphibians. The use of cladistic methods to determine the relationships within modern amphibians (Lissamphibia) from 2000 onwards showed that the Albanerpetontidae either the sister group of the Batrachia , i.e. H. the common clade of tail amphibians and frog amphibians, or the sister group of all modern amphibians, including the sneak amphibians:

  Lissamphibia  

  ? Albanerpetontidae


   

 Sneaking amphibian


   

  ? Albanerpetontidae


  Batrachia  

 Tail amphibian


   

 Frogs






In any case, Albanerpetontiden are still regarded as representatives of the Lissamphibia.

Internal system

Currently (as of 2015), four genera are distinguished among the Albanerpetontiden:

In 1981, Nukusurus and Bishara from the Upper Cretaceous of Uzbekistan were also described as Albanerpetontiden . However, the material on which the genus Nukusurus was established (lower jaw branches ) has no diagnostic features that make it distinguishable from other Albanian petontids at the genus level, which is why Nukusuurus and their species N. insuetus and N. sodalis have been declared nomina dubia . The genus Bishara, on the other hand, has been identified as a representative of the modern salamanders. The position of the genus Ramonellus from the Upper Lower Cretaceous of Israel, described in 1969, has not yet been clearly clarified . On the one hand, it has been classified several times as a close relative of Albanian peton , on the other hand, it is also regarded as a “primitive” representative of the Urodela.

Remarks

* Triton is the old name of the salamander genus Triturus , which traditionally u. a. the Central European species crested newt and pond newt belong.

literature

  • James D. Gardner, Madelaine Böhme: Review of the Albanerpetontidae (Lissamphibia), with Comments on the Paleoecological Preferences of European Tertiary Albanerpetontids. Pp. 178-218 in: Julia T. Sankey, Sven Baszio (eds.): Vertebrate Microfossil Assemblages - Their Role in Paleoecology and Paleobiogeography. University of Indiana Press, Bloomington (IN) 2008, ISBN 978-0-253-34927-9

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael J. Benton: Paleontology of the vertebrates. Translation of the 3rd English edition (Translator: Hans-Ulrich Pfretzschner). Publishing house Dr. Friedrich Pfeil, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-89937-072-0 , p. 114
  2. ↑ Steven C. Sweetman, James D. Gardner: A new albanerpetontid amphibian from the Barremian (Early Cretaceous) Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight, southern England. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. Vol. 58, No. 2, 2013, pp. 295-324, doi : 10.4202 / app.2011.0109
  3. ↑ see literature cited in this regard in Márton Venczel, James D. Gardner: The Geologically Youngest Albanerpetontid Amphibian, from the Lower Pliocene of Hungary. Paleontology. Vol. 48, No. 6, 2005, pp. 1273-1300, doi : 10.1111 / j.1475-4983.2005.00512.x ( Open Access ).
  4. ↑ James D. Gardner, Alexander O. Averianov: Albanerpetontid amphibians from the Upper Cretaceous of Middle Asia. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. Vol. 43, No. 3, 1998, pp. 453-467 ( online )
  5. ↑ James D. Gardner, Susan E. Evans, Denise Sigogneau-Russell: New albanerpetontid amphibians from the Early Cretaceous of Morocco and Middle Jurassic of England. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. Vol. 48, No. 2, 2003, pp. 301-319 ( online )

Web links

Commons : Albanerpetontidae  - Collection of images, videos and audio files