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Westlothiana
| Westlothiana Fossil range: Early Carboniferous | |
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| Scientific classification
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Westlothiana | |
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Westlothiana is an extinct genus of reptile-like tetrapod that bore a superficial resemblance to modern-day lizards. It lived during the Carboniferous period, about 350 million years ago.
The type specimen was discovered in East Kirkton Quarry, Bathgate, Scotland, in 1984, and was named after the West Lothian district where it was found. Westlothiana's anatomy contained a mixtures of both early tetrapod and amniote features, and was originally regarded as the first reptile.[1] This species probably lived near a freshwater lake, probably hunting for other small creatures that lived in the same habitat.
It was later identified as a reptiliomorph, distantly related to the amniotes.[1] Some scientists say that Westlothiana is not even a reptiliomorph, and may have been a far more primitive type of tetrapod. The same as been argued for seymouriamorphs.
References
Edit
- ^ a b Palmer, D., ed (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 62. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
- The earliest Reptiliomorph - accessed October 22, 2007
External linksEdit
- Westlothiana lizziae from the Viséan of East Kirkton, West Lothian, Scotland, and the amniote stem
- AMPHIBIANS that came to stay
