Papposaurus is an extinct genus of proterogyrinid embolomere which lived in the Mississippian (early Carboniferous) of Scotland. It is known from a single species, Papposaurus traquiairi, which is based on an isolated femur discovered in ironstone near Loanhead.[1][2] Though originally compared closely to reptiles,[3] subsequent study has revealed closer similarity to basal embolomeres such as Proterogyrinus and Archeria.[1] With such limited remains, Papposaurus may not be a valid genus. The femur was redescribed in 1986 by T. R. Smithson, who considered Papposaurus traquairi a nomen vanum possibly synonymous with Proterogyrinus scheelei.[4]

Papposaurus
Temporal range: Late Mississippian, Namurian A (Serpukhovian)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Sarcopterygii
Clade: Tetrapodomorpha
Order: Embolomeri
Family: Proterogyrinidae
Genus: Papposaurus
Watson, 1914
Type species
Papposaurus traquairi
Watson, 1914

References

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  1. ^ a b Holmes, R. (2 November 1984). "The Carboniferous Amphibian Proterogyrinus scheelei Romer, and the Early Evolution of Tetrapods". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences. 306 (1130): 431–524. Bibcode:1984RSPTB.306..431H. doi:10.1098/rstb.1984.0103. JSTOR 2396081.
  2. ^ Smithson, T. R. (1985-09-01). "Scottish Carboniferous amphibian localities". Scottish Journal of Geology. 21 (2): 123–142. doi:10.1144/sjg21020123. ISSN 0036-9276. S2CID 130137425.
  3. ^ Watson, D. M. S. (August 1914). "III.—On a Femur of Reptilian Type from the Lower Carboniferous of Scotland". Geological Magazine. 1 (8): 347–348. Bibcode:1914GeoM....1..347W. doi:10.1017/S0016756800139883. ISSN 1469-5081. S2CID 129907374.
  4. ^ Smithson, T. R. (September 1986). "A new anthracosaur amphibian from the Carboniferous of Scotland" (PDF). Palaeontology. 29 (3): 603–628.