Hylonomus
| Hylonomus Temporal range: Bashkirian, 315–312Ma |
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Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Eureptilia |
| Clade: | Romeriida |
| Genus: | †Hylonomus |
| Species: | † H. lyelli |
| Binomial name | |
| Hylonomus lyelli |
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Hylonomus (/haɪˈlɒnəməs/; hylo- "forest" + nomos "dweller")[1] was a very early reptile. It lived 312 million years ago during the Late Carboniferous period.[2] It is the earliest unquestionable reptile (Westlothiana is older, but in fact it may have been an amphibian, and Casineria is rather fragmentary).
Hylonomus was 20 centimetres (8 in) long (including the tail) and probably would have looked rather similar to modern lizards. It had small sharp teeth and likely ate small invertebrates such as millipedes or early insects.[3]
Fossils of Hylonomus have been found in the remains of fossilized club moss stumps in Joggins, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is supposed that, after harsh weather, the club mosses would crash down, with the stumps eventually rotting and hollowing out. Small animals such as Hylonomus, seeking shelter, would enter and become trapped, starving to death. Fossils of the basal pelycosaur Archaeothyris and the basal diapsid Petrolacosaurus are also found in the same region of Nova Scotia, although from a higher stratum, dated approximately 6 million years later.[2]
Fossilized footprints found in New Brunswick have been attributed to Hylonomus, at an estimated age of 315 million years.[4]
This animal was discovered by John William Dawson in the mid-19th century. The species name was given it by Dawson's teacher, the geologist Sir Charles Lyell. While it has traditionally been included in the group Protothyrididae, later studies have shown that it is probably more closely related to diapsids.[5]
Hylonomus lyelli was named the Provincial Fossil of Nova Scotia in 2002.
References[edit]
- ^ Genus Hylonomus Etymology
- ^ a b van Tuinen, Marcel; Elizabeth A. Hadly (2004). "Error in Estimation of Rate and Time Inferred from the Early Amniote Fossil Record and Avian Molecular Clocks". Journal of Molecular Evolution 59 (2): 267–276. doi:10.1007/s00239-004-2624-9. PMID 15486700. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
- ^ Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 62. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
- ^ Falcon-Lang, H.J., Benton, M.J. & Stimson, M. (2007): Ecology of early reptiles inferred from Lower Pennsylvanian trackways. Journal of the Geological Society, London, 164; no. 6; pp 1113-1118. article
- ^ Muller, J. and 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
External links[edit]
- Fossils of Nova Scotia - The Tree Stump Animals
- Transitional Vertebrate Fossils FAQ Part 1B
- Early Researchers & Finds of the Joggins Fossil Cliffs
- The Science of the Joggins Fossil Cliffs
- Hylonomus: Provincial Fossil of Nova Scotia
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