Karaurus
Karaurus Temporal range: Late Jurassic
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Fossil skeleton | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Amphibia |
Clade: | Caudata |
Family: | †Karauridae |
Genus: | †Karaurus Ivachnenko, 1978 |
Type species | |
†Karaurus sharovi Ivachnenko, 1978
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Karaurus (meaning head-tail) is an extinct genus of stem-group salamander from the Middle to Late Jurassic (Callovian–Kimmeridgian) Karabastau Formation of Kazakhstan. It is one of the oldest salamanders known.
Karaurus was about 20 centimetres (7.9 in) long, and very similar anatomically to modern salamanders. It probably swam through fresh water feeding on aquatic snails, worms, crustaceans and insects.[2] Karaurus is thought to form a clade with Kokartus from the Bathonian of Kyrgyzstan, together forming the Karauridae, as the sister group to crown salamanders.
References[]
- ^ "†Karaurus Ivachnenko 1978". Paleobiology Database. Fossilworks. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
- ^ Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 57. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
Categories:
- Prehistoric amphibians
- Late Jurassic amphibians
- Prehistoric amphibians of Asia
- Prehistoric amphibian genera
- Fossil taxa described in 1978
- Prehistoric amphibian stubs