Lysorophia

Brachydectes newberryi

• Eastern USA
• Europe ( Ireland)?

The Lysorophia are a fossil taxon amphibian -like terrestrial vertebrates. They are classified in the group of Hüllenwirbler ( Lepospondyli ) and lived during the late Carboniferous to the early Permian in North America and possibly in Europe.

Features

The animals had elongated body with up to 99 holospondylen ( a coil- shaped vertebral body, which consists of a single ossification ) vertebrae and greatly reduced limbs. The tail was short and had Hämalbögen. A bony armor skin was missing. The very open skull had large cranial windows and large orbit. Maxilla and premaxilla were relatively fine movable. The foramen of the parietal bone was missing. The lower jaw was short and had on each side of a window. The dentition was not labyrinthodont. On vomer and palatine bones they had no teeth. A number of skull bones as postfrontal, postorbital, supratemporal, zygomatic, Quadratojugale, Ectopterygoid, Coronoidknochen and Postspleniale missing. The parasphenoid was broad. The head-side articular surface of the atlas was wider than the body side.

The Lysorophia are compared with other Paleozoic amphibians like animals strongly derived. They are probably closely related to the Microsauria. But they share synapomorphies with today's amphibians ( Lissamphibia ).