Eocaecilia
| Eocaecilia Temporal range: Early Jurassic
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| Genus: | Eocaecilia
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| Species: | E. micropodia
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| Eocaecilia micropodia | |
Eocaecilia micropodia is an extinct species of caecilian (limbless amphibian) from the Early Jurassic Period in Arizona, USA. It shared some characteristics with salamanders and the now extinct Microsauria.
It was of small size, about 15 cm in length. Unlike modern caecilians, which are legless, Eocaecilia possessed small legs, and while modern caecilians have poorly developed eyes and spend a lot of time under ground, Eocaecilia's eyes were still well-developed, indicating it was not subterranean.
References
- Estes, R. & Wake, M.H. (1972) The First Fossil Record of Caecilian Amphibians. Nature 239:228-231.
- Jenkins, F.A. & Walsh, D.M. (1993) An Early Jurassic caecilian with limbs. Nature 365: 246-250.
- Jenkins, F.A. et al. (2007) Anatomy of Eocaecilia micropodia, A Limbed Caecilian of the Early Jurassic. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 158(6):285-365.
- Maddin H.C., Jenkins F.A. Jr. & Anderson J.S. (2012) The Braincase of Eocaecilia micropodia (Lissamphibia, Gymnophiona) and the Origin of Caecilians. PLoS ONE 7(12):e50743.
External links
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