Anthracosaurus: Difference between revisions

Anthracosaurus; Temporal range: Westphalian A – Westphalian B ; (late Bashkirian – early Moscovian) PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
	Life restoration of Anthracosaurus russeli
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Clade:	Sarcopterygii
Clade:	Tetrapodomorpha
Order:	†Embolomeri
Family:	†Anthracosauridae; Cope, 1875
Genus:	†Anthracosaurus; Huxley, 1863
Type species
	†Anthracosaurus russelli; Huxley, 1863
Species
	†A. russelli ; Huxley, 1863; †A. lancifer ; (Newberry, 1856 [originally Rhizodus lancifer]);

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Anthracosaurus is an extinct genus of embolomere that lived during the Late Carboniferous (around 315 million years ago) in what is now Scotland, England, and Ohio.^[1]^[2]^[3] Measuring around 10 ft (3.0 m) long, it was a large, aquatic eel-like predator. It has a robust skull about 40 centimetres (1.3 ft) in length with large teeth in the jaws and on the roof of the mouth. Anthracosaurus probably inhabited swamps, rivers and lakes. Its name is Greek for "coal lizard".

Discovery and specimens

Scotland

The genus and type species Anthracosaurus russelli were named by Thomas Henry Huxley in 1863, based on fossils acquired by mining surveyor James Russell in 1861.^[4] Nearly all fossils were found near Airdrie, in the historic County Lanarkshire of Scotland. Geologically speaking, they hail from the Blackband Ironstone of the Scottish Middle Coal Measures. In traditional European stratigraphy, this layer would be dated to the Westphalian B, corresponding to the early-middle part of the Pennsylvanian (Late Carboniferous). The holotype is a large flattened cranium embedded in an ironstone nodule. Due to the tough mineral encrustation, it would take more than a century for the skull to be fully prepared and cleared of matrix.^[1] Subsequent to Huxley's original description, incremental preparation allowed for the skull to be redescribed by Watson (1929)^[5] and later Panchen (1977).^[1] Other fossils from Airdrie include lower jaw fragments, teeth, vertebrae, and possibly a partial interclavicle.^[1] It is uncertain whether the postcranial fossils truly belong to Anthracosaurus. The vertebrae are undiagnostic beyond their embolomerous form, while the interclavicle shows similarity to that of Pholiderpeton.^[2]

England

A second, less complete skull from Washington (in the historic County Durham of England) was assigned to Anthracosaurus russelli by Panchen et al. (1967). It is slightly older than the Scottish fossils, dating to the Lower Coal Measures (Westphalian A).^[6]^[1] Panchen (1981) expanded the list of English fossils with an incomplete jaw stored in the Hancock Museum, possibly from the Lower Main Seam of Newsham, Northumberland (Westphalian B).^[7] Clack (1987) described two additional Anthracosaurus fossils from Newsham: a partial skull roof (previously referred to Pteroplax cornuta or Eogyrinus attheyi) and an isolated jugal bone.^[2]

Ohio

Romer (1963)^[8] showed that the tooth of an animal that J. S. Newberry named "Rhizodus lancifer," from the Diamond Coal Mine, a Carboniferous site in Linton, Ohio, belonged to a species of Anthracosaurus. Now known as Anthracosaurus lancifer, this species is represented by a collection of isolated teeth, vertebrae, and molds of a snout and shoulder girdle. The snout shows enlarged premaxillary teeth, but this trait is present in other American embolomeres like Eobaphetes and Neopteroplax. Another embolomere described from Linton, Leptophractus obsoletus,^[1] probably represents an early growth phase of Anthracosaurus lancifer.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Panchen, A.L. (1977). "On Anthracosaurus russelli Huxley (Amphibia: Labyrinthodontia) and the family Anthracosauridae". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. 279 (968): 447–512. doi:10.1098/rstb.1977.0096.
^ ^a ^b ^c Clack, J.A. (1987). "Two new specimens of Anthracosaurus (Amphibia: Anthracosauria) from the Northumberland Coal Measures" (PDF). Palaeontology. 30 (1): 15–26.
^ Babcock, L. E. (2024). "Some vertebrate types (Chondrichthyes, Actinopterygii, Sarcopterygii, and Tetrapoda) from two Paleozoic Lagerstätten of Ohio, U.S.A." Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 44: 1–12. doi:10.1080/02724634.2024.2308621.
^ Huxley, T. H. (1863). "Description of Anthracosaurus russelli, a new labyrinthodont from the Lanarkshire coal-field". Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society. 19 (1–2): 56–68. doi:10.1144/GSL.JGS.1863.019.01-02.11. ISSN 0370-291X.
^ Watson, D.M.S. (1929). "The Carboniferous Amphibia of Scotland". Palaeontologia Hungarica. 1: 219–252.
^ Panchen, A. L.; Tilley, Eileen H.; Steel, C. A. B. (1967). "Discovery of an Anthracosaur Skull in the Durham Coal Measures". Nature. 214 (5092): 1001. doi:10.1038/2141001a0. ISSN 0028-0836.
^ Panchen, A.L. (1981). "A jaw ramus of the Coal Measure amphibian Anthracosaurus from Northumberland" (PDF). Palaeontology. 24 (1): 85–92.
^ Romer, Alfred S. (1963). "The larger embolomerous amphibians of the American Carboniferous". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University. 128: 415–454.

External links

Classification of Anthracosaurus

[PAL77-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Panchen, A.L. (1977). "On Anthracosaurus russelli Huxley (Amphibia: Labyrinthodontia) and the family Anthracosauridae". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. 279 (968): 447–512. doi:10.1098/rstb.1977.0096.

[:0-2] Clack, J.A. (1987). "Two new specimens of Anthracosaurus (Amphibia: Anthracosauria) from the Northumberland Coal Measures" (PDF). Palaeontology. 30 (1): 15–26.

[3] Babcock, L. E. (2024). "Some vertebrate types (Chondrichthyes, Actinopterygii, Sarcopterygii, and Tetrapoda) from two Paleozoic Lagerstätten of Ohio, U.S.A." Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 44: 1–12. doi:10.1080/02724634.2024.2308621.

[4] Huxley, T. H. (1863). "Description of Anthracosaurus russelli, a new labyrinthodont from the Lanarkshire coal-field". Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society. 19 (1–2): 56–68. doi:10.1144/GSL.JGS.1863.019.01-02.11. ISSN 0370-291X.

[5] Watson, D.M.S. (1929). "The Carboniferous Amphibia of Scotland". Palaeontologia Hungarica. 1: 219–252.

[6] Panchen, A. L.; Tilley, Eileen H.; Steel, C. A. B. (1967). "Discovery of an Anthracosaur Skull in the Durham Coal Measures". Nature. 214 (5092): 1001. doi:10.1038/2141001a0. ISSN 0028-0836.

[7] Panchen, A.L. (1981). "A jaw ramus of the Coal Measure amphibian Anthracosaurus from Northumberland" (PDF). Palaeontology. 24 (1): 85–92.

[8] Romer, Alfred S. (1963). "The larger embolomerous amphibians of the American Carboniferous". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University. 128: 415–454.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Short description|Extinct genus of amphibians}}
+{{Short description|Extinct genus of tetrapodomorphs}}
 {{Automatic taxobox
-| fossil_range = {{Fossil range|Moscovian}} ~310 [[Megaannum|Ma]]
+| fossil_range = {{Fossil range|315|315|Westphalian A – Westphalian B <br>(late [[Bashkirian]] – early [[Moscovian (Carboniferous)|Moscovian]])}}
 | image = Anthracosaurus russeli12DB.jpg
 | image_caption = Life restoration of ''Anthracosaurus russeli''
@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 | type_species = {{extinct}}'''''Anthracosaurus russelli'''''
 | type_species_authority = Huxley, 1863
+| subdivision_ranks = [[Species]]
+| subdivision = *{{extinct}}'''''A. russelli''''' <br /><small>[[Thomas Henry Huxley|Huxley]], 1863</small>
+*{{extinct}}'''''A. lancifer''''' <br /><small>([[John Strong Newberry|Newberry]], 1856 [originally ''[[Rhizodus]] lancifer''])</small>
+| diversity =
 }}
-'''''Anthracosaurus''''' is an [[extinct]] genus of [[embolomere]], a possible distant relative of reptiles that lived during the [[Late Carboniferous]] (around 310 million years ago) in what is now [[Scotland]] and [[England]].<ref name="PAL77">{{cite journal |last=Panchen |first=A.L. |year=1977 |title=On ''Anthracosaurus russelli'' Huxley (Amphibia: Labyrinthodontia) and the family Anthracosauridae |journal=[[Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B]] |volume=279 |issue=968 |pages=447–512 |doi=10.1098/rstb.1977.0096|doi-access= }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Clack |first=J.A. |date=1987 |title=Two new specimens of ''Anthracosaurus'' (Amphibia: Anthracosauria) from the Northumberland Coal Measures |url=https://www.palass.org/sites/default/files/media/publications/palaeontology/volume_30/vol30_part1_pp15-26.pdf |journal=Palaeontology |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=15–26}}</ref> It was a large, aquatic eel-like predator. It has a robust skull about {{convert|40|cm|ft}} in length with large teeth in the jaws and on the roof of the mouth. ''Anthracosaurus'' probably inhabited swamps, rivers and lakes. Its name is Greek for "coal lizard".
+'''''Anthracosaurus''''' is an [[extinct]] genus of [[embolomere]] that lived during the [[Late Carboniferous]] (around 315 million years ago) in what is now [[Scotland]], [[England]], and Ohio.<ref name="PAL77">{{cite journal |last=Panchen |first=A.L. |year=1977 |title=On ''Anthracosaurus russelli'' Huxley (Amphibia: Labyrinthodontia) and the family Anthracosauridae |journal=[[Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B]] |volume=279 |issue=968 |pages=447–512 |doi=10.1098/rstb.1977.0096|doi-access= }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Clack |first=J.A. |date=1987 |title=Two new specimens of ''Anthracosaurus'' (Amphibia: Anthracosauria) from the Northumberland Coal Measures |url=https://www.palass.org/sites/default/files/media/publications/palaeontology/volume_30/vol30_part1_pp15-26.pdf |journal=Palaeontology |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=15–26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Babcock |first=L. E. |date=2024 |title=Some vertebrate types (Chondrichthyes, Actinopterygii, Sarcopterygii, and Tetrapoda) from two Paleozoic Lagerstätten of Ohio, U.S.A. |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=44 |pages=1-12 |doi=10.1080/02724634.2024.2308621|doi-access=free }}</ref> Measuring around {{convert|10|ft|m|abbr=on}} long, it was a large, aquatic eel-like predator. It has a robust skull about {{convert|40|cm|ft}} in length with large teeth in the jaws and on the roof of the mouth. ''Anthracosaurus'' probably inhabited swamps, rivers and lakes. Its name is Greek for "coal lizard".
 == Discovery and specimens ==
 === Scotland ===
-The genus and [[type species]] '''''Anthracosaurus russelli''''' were named by [[Thomas Henry Huxley]] in 1863, based on fossils acquired by mining surveyor James Russell in 1861.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Huxley |first=T. H. |date=1863 |title=Description of ''Anthracosaurus russelli'', a new labyrinthodont from the Lanarkshire coal-field |url=https://www.lyellcollection.org/doi/10.1144/GSL.JGS.1863.019.01-02.11 |journal=Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society |language=en |volume=19 |issue=1-2 |pages=56–68 |doi=10.1144/GSL.JGS.1863.019.01-02.11 |issn=0370-291X}}</ref> Nearly all fossils were found near [[Airdrie, North Lanarkshire|Airdrie]], in the historic [[Lanarkshire|County Lanarkshire]] of Scotland. Geologically speaking, they hail from the [[Blackband Ironstone]] of the [[Middle Coal Measures]]. In traditional European [[stratigraphy]], this layer would be dated to the [[Westphalian (stage)|Westphalian B]], corresponding to the early-middle part of the Pennsylvanian (Late Carboniferous). The [[holotype]] is a large flattened cranium embedded in an [[ironstone]] [[Nodule (geology)|nodule]]. Due to the tough mineral encrustation, it would take more than a century for the skull to be fully prepared and cleared of [[Matrix (geology)|matrix]].<ref name="PAL77" /> Subsequent to Huxley's original description, incremental preparation allowed for the skull to be redescribed by [[D. M. S. Watson|Watson]] (1929)<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Watson |first=D.M.S. |date=1929 |title=The Carboniferous Amphibia of Scotland |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Carboniferous_Amphibia_of_Scotland/RYRGAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1 |journal=Palaeontologia Hungarica |volume=1 |pages=219–252}}</ref> and later Panchen (1977).<ref name="PAL77" /> Other fossils from Airdrie include lower jaw fragments, teeth, [[Vertebra|vertebrae]], and possibly a partial [[interclavicle]].<ref name="PAL77" /> It is uncertain whether the postcranial fossils truly belong to ''Anthracosaurus''. The vertebrae are undiagnostic beyond their embolomerous form, while the interclavicle shows similarity to that of ''[[Pholiderpeton]]''.<ref name=":0" />
+The genus and [[type species]] '''''Anthracosaurus russelli''''' were named by [[Thomas Henry Huxley]] in 1863, based on fossils acquired by mining surveyor James Russell in 1861.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Huxley |first=T. H. |date=1863 |title=Description of ''Anthracosaurus russelli'', a new labyrinthodont from the Lanarkshire coal-field |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/109632#page/160/mode/1up |journal=Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society |language=en |volume=19 |issue=1–2 |pages=56–68 |doi=10.1144/GSL.JGS.1863.019.01-02.11 |issn=0370-291X}}</ref> Nearly all fossils were found near [[Airdrie, North Lanarkshire|Airdrie]], in the historic [[Lanarkshire|County Lanarkshire]] of Scotland. Geologically speaking, they hail from the [[Blackband Ironstone]] of the [[Scottish Coal Measures Group|Scottish Middle Coal Measures]]. In traditional European [[stratigraphy]], this layer would be dated to the [[Westphalian B]], corresponding to the early-middle part of the Pennsylvanian (Late Carboniferous). The [[holotype]] is a large flattened cranium embedded in an [[ironstone]] [[Nodule (geology)|nodule]]. Due to the tough mineral encrustation, it would take more than a century for the skull to be fully prepared and cleared of [[Matrix (geology)|matrix]].<ref name="PAL77" /> Subsequent to Huxley's original description, incremental preparation allowed for the skull to be redescribed by [[D. M. S. Watson|Watson]] (1929)<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Watson |first=D.M.S. |date=1929 |title=The Carboniferous Amphibia of Scotland |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RYRGAQAAMAAJ |journal=Palaeontologia Hungarica |volume=1 |pages=219–252}}</ref> and later Panchen (1977).<ref name="PAL77" /> Other fossils from Airdrie include lower jaw fragments, teeth, [[Vertebra|vertebrae]], and possibly a partial [[interclavicle]].<ref name="PAL77" /> It is uncertain whether the postcranial fossils truly belong to ''Anthracosaurus''. The vertebrae are undiagnostic beyond their embolomerous form, while the interclavicle shows similarity to that of ''[[Pholiderpeton]]''.<ref name=":0" />
 === England ===
-A second, less complete skull from [[Washington, Tyne and Wear|Washington]] (in the historic [[County Durham]] of England) was assigned to ''Anthracosaurus russelli'' by Panchen et al. (1967). It is slightly older than the Scottish fossils, dating to the Lower Coal Measures (Westphalian A).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Panchen |first=A. L. |last2=Tilley |first2=Eileen H. |last3=Steel |first3=C. A. B. |date=1967 |title=Discovery of an Anthracosaur Skull in the Durham Coal Measures |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/2141001a0 |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=214 |issue=5092 |pages=1001–1001 |doi=10.1038/2141001a0 |issn=0028-0836}}</ref><ref name="PAL77" /> Panchen (1981) expanded the list of English fossils with an incomplete jaw stored in the [[Great North Museum: Hancock|Hancock Museum]], possibly from the [[Lower Main Seam]] of [[Newsham railway station|Newsham]], [[Northumberland]] (Westphalian B).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Panchen |first=A.L. |date=1981 |title=A jaw ramus of the Coal Measure amphibian ''Anthracosaurus'' from Northumberland |url=https://www.palass.org/sites/default/files/media/publications/palaeontology/volume_24/vol24_part1_pp85-92.pdf |journal=Palaeontology |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=85–92}}</ref> [[Jenny Clack|Clack]] (1987) described two additional ''Anthracosaurus'' fossils from Newsham: a partial skull roof (previously referred to ''[[Pteroplax|Pteroplax cornuta]]'' or ''[[Eogyrinus attheyi]]'') and an isolated [[Jugal bone|jugal]] bone.<ref name=":0" />
+A second, less complete skull from [[Washington, Tyne and Wear|Washington]] (in the historic [[County Durham]] of England) was assigned to ''Anthracosaurus russelli'' by Panchen et al. (1967). It is slightly older than the Scottish fossils, dating to the Lower Coal Measures (Westphalian A).<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Panchen |first1=A. L. |last2=Tilley |first2=Eileen H. |last3=Steel |first3=C. A. B. |date=1967 |title=Discovery of an Anthracosaur Skull in the Durham Coal Measures |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/2141001a0 |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=214 |issue=5092 |pages=1001 |doi=10.1038/2141001a0 |issn=0028-0836|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="PAL77" /> Panchen (1981) expanded the list of English fossils with an incomplete jaw stored in the [[Great North Museum: Hancock|Hancock Museum]], possibly from the [[Lower Main Seam]] of [[Newsham railway station|Newsham]], [[Northumberland]] (Westphalian B).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Panchen |first=A.L. |date=1981 |title=A jaw ramus of the Coal Measure amphibian ''Anthracosaurus'' from Northumberland |url=https://www.palass.org/sites/default/files/media/publications/palaeontology/volume_24/vol24_part1_pp85-92.pdf |journal=Palaeontology |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=85–92}}</ref> [[Jenny Clack|Clack]] (1987) described two additional ''Anthracosaurus'' fossils from Newsham: a partial skull roof (previously referred to ''[[Pteroplax|Pteroplax cornuta]]'' or ''[[Eogyrinus attheyi]]'') and an isolated [[Jugal bone|jugal]] bone.<ref name=":0" />
 === Ohio ===
-[[Alfred Romer|Romer]] (1963)<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Romer |first=Alfred S. |date=1963 |title=The larger embolomerous amphibians of the American Carboniferous |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/25341#page/581/mode/1up |journal=Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University |volume=128 |pages=415–454}}</ref> attempted to name a second species of ''Anthracosaurus'' from the Diamond Coal Mine, a productive Carboniferous site in [[Linton, Ohio]]. This American species, ''Anthracosaurus lancifer'', consists of a collection of isolated teeth, vertebrae, and molds of a snout and shoulder girdle. The species name ''<nowiki/>'lancifer''<nowiki/>' was borrowed from a large tooth ("''[[Rhizodus]] lancifer''"), an undiagnostic fossil which could belong to a variety of predatory fish or amphibians. The snout does show enlarged premaxillary teeth, but this trait is present in other American embolomeres like ''[[Eobaphetes]]'' and ''[[Neopteroplax]]''. It is probable that "''Anthracosaurus lancifer''" simply represents adult specimens of another Linton embolomere, ''[[Leptophractus|Leptophractus obsoletus]]''.<ref name="PAL77" />
+[[Alfred Romer|Romer]] (1963)<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Romer |first=Alfred S. |date=1963 |title=The larger embolomerous amphibians of the American Carboniferous |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/25341#page/581/mode/1up |journal=Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University |volume=128 |pages=415–454}}</ref> showed that the tooth of an animal that [[John Strong Newberry|J. S. Newberry]] named "''[[Rhizodus]] lancifer,''" from the Diamond Coal Mine, a Carboniferous site in [[Linton, Ohio]], belonged to a species of ''Anthracosaurus''. Now known as ''Anthracosaurus lancifer'', this species is represented by a collection of isolated teeth, vertebrae, and molds of a snout and shoulder girdle. The snout shows enlarged premaxillary teeth, but this trait is present in other American embolomeres like ''[[Eobaphetes]]'' and ''[[Neopteroplax]]''. Another embolomere described from Linton, ''[[Leptophractus|Leptophractus obsoletus]],''<ref name="PAL77" /> probably represents an early growth phase of ''Anthracosaurus lancifer.''
 ==References==
@@ Line 30: / Line 34: @@
 * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110717202716/http://taxonomicon.taxonomy.nl/TaxonTree.aspx?id=987577 Classification of Anthracosaurus]
+{{Tetrapodomorpha|St.}}
-{{Early tetrapods}}
 {{Taxonbar|from=Q5219896}}
 [[Category:Embolomeres]]
-[[Category:Carboniferous reptiliomorphs]]
+[[Category:Bashkirian life]]
-[[Category:Basal tetrapods of Europe]]
+[[Category:Moscovian life]]
+[[Category:Pennsylvanian sarcopterygians of Europe]]
+[[Category:Pennsylvanian sarcopterygians of North America]]
+[[Category:Fossil taxa described in 1863]]
+[[Category:Taxa named by Thomas Henry Huxley]]