Silvanerpeton is an extinct genus of early reptiliomorph found by Stan Wood in the East Kirkton Quarry of West Lothian, Scotland, in a sequence from the Brigantian substage of the Viséan (Lower Carboniferous).[1] The find is important, as the quarry represents terrestrial deposits from Romer's gap, a period poor in fossils where the higher groups "labyrinthodonts" evolved.
| Silvanerpeton Temporal range: Early Carboniferous | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Life restoration of Silvanerpeton miripedes | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Reptiliomorpha |
| Genus: | †Silvanerpeton Clack, 1994 |
| Type species | |
| †Silvanerpeton miripedes Clack, 1994 | |
The type species Silvanerpeton miripedes was named by Jennifer A. Clack in 1993/1994. The generic name is derived from Silvanus, the Roman god of woods. The specific name means "wondrous feet" in Latin. The holotype is specimen UMZC T1317, a skeleton with skull and skin impressions.[2]
Description
In life Silvanerpeton was about 40 cm (1 ft) long. Some paleontologists think it was semi-aquatic as an adult, others believe only young individuals of Silvanerpeton were aquatic and the adults were fully terrestrial.
Classification
Based on a remarkably well preserved humerus and other traits, the animal is believed to have been a relatively advanced reptiliomorph, close to the origin of amniotes.[3]
