Athena Review Image Archive ™
Dendrepeton arcadiatum skull
Skull of Dendrepeton arcadiatum with labelled bones (after Milner 1980, fig.4 )
Dendrepeton arcadiatum was a land-based temnospondyl amphibian from the Late Pennsylvanian period (Westphalian B stage, about 314-311 mya). They were first discovered in fossil stump deposits in the Joggins Formation in Nova Scotia by J.W. Dawkins in 1861. Denderepeton belonged to the class Amphibia, the order Temnospondli, and the family Dendrepetonidae. Dendrepeton fossils in the Jarrow deposits are often found associated with the Carboniferous tree genera Lepidodendron and Sigillaria.
This drawing with labelled parts shows a reconstruction by Milner (1980), based on several fragments including that shown in Owen (1862) of the interior of the upper part of the skull of Dendrepeton arcadianum. Small, conical labyrinthodont teeth are shown in the upper jaw.
References:
Owen, R. 1862. Description
of Specimens of Fossil Reptilia Discovered in the Coal Measures of the
South Joggins, Novia Scotia, by Dr. J.W. Dawkins, F.G.S. Proccedings of the Geological Society of London, vol.18, pp. 238-244.
Milner, A.R. 1980. The Tetrapod Assemblage in Nytany, Czechoslovakia. In Panchen, A.L. (ed.), The Territorial Environment and the Origin of Land Vertebrates. Systematics Assoc. Special Volume 15, Academic Press London, pp. 439-496.
Copyright © 1996-2020 Rust Family Foundation (All Rights Reserved).