Seymouria facts for kids
Quick facts for kids SeymouriaTemporal range: early Permian 280–270 mya
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Seymouria baylorensis from the early Permian of North America, Museum of Natural History, Washington | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
| Class: | |
| Order: |
Seymouriamorpha
|
| Genus: |
Seymouria
|
Seymouria was an amphibian tetrapod from the early Permian of North America and Europe, about 280 to 270 million years ago (mya). It was small, only 2 ft (60 cm) long.
As an adult animal, Seymouria was well adapted to life on land, with many reptilian features. It was for quite a long time thought to be a primitive reptile. However, it is now known that its early life stages were in water. Apparently, it is an amphibian whose adult stage was adapted for life in a dry climate.
The discovery of its amphibian nature was a considerable surprise.
- "... the discovery of larval stages... demonstrated conclusively that the seymouriamorphs were not biologically amniotes". Fossil larvae have been found of three related genera, from the Upper Carboniferous and Lower Permian of five European countries.
- "It has been shown conclusively that seymouriamorphs had an amphibian-type life history, with aquatic young stages that lost their external gills after metamorphosis.... Seymouriamorphs were definitely not amniotes themselves". This means they were not reptiles.
The adult skeletons were first found in the red beds of Texas and Oklahoma. These beds were laid down in the huge delta complex of a large river flowing towards a coast, much like the Mississippi of today. The species found in Germany and New Mexico, Seymouria sanjuanensis, had massive legs and held its body well off the ground. This shows an "effective adaptation to terrrestrial locomotion".
A simplified life cycle might be: eggs laid in water, larval stages in water, young animal with limbs climbs out and instinctively moves to higher ground. All its life lived as a carnivore on dry land, returning to water occasionally to drink and to breed. The adults would be able to operate in a fairly dry climate.
Images for kids
-
Life restoration and scale chart of Seymouria baylorensis
-
A replica of the Cutler Formation block containing six Seymouria sanjuanensis skeletons, described by Berman, Reisz, & Eberth (1987)
-
Diagrams of skulls from S. baylorensis and S. sanjuanensis.
-
A skeletal illustration of Williston (1911)'s Seymouria baylorensis specimen. Note that the fourth finger of the hand is too long and too many caudal ribs are illustrated.
See also
In Spanish: Seymouria para niños
