Cephalerpeton is an extinct genus of "protorothyridid" tetrapods known from the Late Carboniferous (late Westphalian stage) of Illinois.[1]

Cephalerpeton
Temporal range: Late Carboniferous, 307.1–305 Ma
Original fossil (a) and resin cast (b) of YPM 796
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Family: Protorothyrididae
Genus: Cephalerpeton
Moodie, 1912
Species:
C. ventriarmatum
Binomial name
Cephalerpeton ventriarmatum
Moodie, 1912
Skull restoration and diagram of YPM 796

It is known from the holotype YPM 796, a partial skeleton. It was collected in the Mazon Creek site, from the Francis Creek Shale Member of the Carbondale Formation. It was first named by R. L. Moodie in 1912 as an amphibamid amphibian and the type species is Cephalerpeton ventriarmatum.[2] It was first assigned to Protorothyrididae by Robert L. Carroll and Donald Baird in 1972 and this placement has been widely accepted.[3][4]

References

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  1. ^ Mann, Arjan; McDaniel, Emily J.; McColville, Emily R.; Maddin, Hillary C. (2019). "Carbonodraco lundi gen et sp. nov., the oldest parareptile, from Linton, Ohio, and new insights into the early radiation of reptiles". Royal Society Open Science. 6 (11): 191191. Bibcode:2019RSOS....691191M. doi:10.1098/rsos.191191. PMC 6894558. PMID 31827854.
  2. ^ R. L. Moodie (1912). "The Pennsylvanic Amphibia of the Mazon Creek, Illinois, Shales". Kansas University Science Bulletin. 6 (2): 232–259.
  3. ^ Robert L. Carroll; Donald Baird (1972). "Carboniferous Stem-Reptiles of the Family Romeriidae". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 143 (5): 321–363.
  4. ^ Müller, J.; Reisz, R. R. (2006). "The phylogeny of early eureptiles: comparing parsimony and Bayesian approaches in the investigation of a basal fossil clade". Systematic Biology. 55 (3): 503–511. doi:10.1080/10635150600755396. PMID 16861212.