Phlegethontia
Encyclopedia
Phlegethontia is an extinct genus
of lepospondyl
amphibian
from the Carboniferous
and Permian
periods of Europe and North America.
Phlegethontia was an aïstopod
, a group of legless, burrowing, snake
-like amphibians. It was about 1 metres (3.3 ft) long, and possessed a lightly built skull
with many openings, unlike some earlier relatives.
"Dolichosoma" longissima, named by Antonin Fritsch
in 1875, has been reassigned to the genus Phlegethontia and is now considered to be P. longissima. "Dolichosoma" has been considered to be a nomen nudum
because the holotype
was inadequately described through a layer of matrix by Thomas Henry Huxley in 1867.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of lepospondyl
Lepospondyli
Lepospondyli are a group of small but diverse Carboniferous to early Permian tetrapods. Six different groups are known, the Acherontiscidae, Adelospondyli, Aïstopoda, Lysorophia, Microsauria and Nectridea, and between them they include newt-like, eel- or snake-like, and lizard-like forms, along...
amphibian
Amphibian
Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...
from the Carboniferous
Carboniferous
The Carboniferous is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Devonian Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Permian Period, about 299.0 ± 0.8 Mya . The name is derived from the Latin word for coal, carbo. Carboniferous means "coal-bearing"...
and Permian
Permian
The PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian...
periods of Europe and North America.
Phlegethontia was an aïstopod
Aïstopoda
Aïstopoda is an order of highly specialised snake-like amphibians known from the Carboniferous and Early Permian of Europe and North America, ranging from tiny forms only , to nearly in length...
, a group of legless, burrowing, snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
-like amphibians. It was about 1 metres (3.3 ft) long, and possessed a lightly built skull
Skull
The skull is a bony structure in the head of many animals that supports the structures of the face and forms a cavity for the brain.The skull is composed of two parts: the cranium and the mandible. A skull without a mandible is only a cranium. Animals that have skulls are called craniates...
with many openings, unlike some earlier relatives.
"Dolichosoma" longissima, named by Antonin Fritsch
Antonin Fritsch
Antonin Fritsch was a Czech paleontologist, biologist and geologist, living during the Austria–Hungary era. Professor at the Charles University and later became director of the National Museum in Prague...
in 1875, has been reassigned to the genus Phlegethontia and is now considered to be P. longissima. "Dolichosoma" has been considered to be a nomen nudum
Nomen nudum
The phrase nomen nudum is a Latin term, meaning "naked name", used in taxonomy...
because the holotype
Holotype
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...
was inadequately described through a layer of matrix by Thomas Henry Huxley in 1867.
