Acherontiscus

Name: Acherontiscus.
Phonetic: Ah-che-roe-nik-teh-rus.
Named By: Robert L.‭ ‬Carroll‭ ‬-‭ ‬1969.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Amphibia,‭ ‬Lepospondyli,‭ ‬Adelospondyli,‭ ‬Acherontiscidae.
Species: A.‭ ‬caledoniae‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Carnivore/Insectivore.
Size: About‭ 14‭ ‬centimetres long.
Known locations: Scotland.
Time period: Visean of the Carboniferous.
Fossil representation: Skull and partial post cranial skeleton.



       Named after a tributary of the River Styx from Ancient Greek mythology,‭ ‬Acherontiscus was a small lepospondyl that lived in the‭ ‬area that‭ ‬what would become Scotland‭ ‬back‭ ‬in the Carboniferous period.‭ ‬Acherontiscus is also the type genus of its own group,‭ ‬the Acherontiscidae.‭ ‬Acherontiscus is noted for having a long body but proportionately small limbs.‭ ‬This may have been an evolutionary development that allowed Acherontiscus to pass through and amongst narrow obstacles in search of small prey.

Further reading
-‭ ‬A new family of Carboniferous amphibians. -‭ ‬Robert L.‭ ‬Carroll‭ ‬-‭ ‬1969.
- Acherontiscus caledoniae: the earliest heterodont and durophagous tetrapod. - Royal Society Open Science. 6 (5). - Jennifer A. Clack, Marcello Ruta, Andrew R. Milner, John E. A. Marshall, Timothy R. Smithson & Keturah Z. Smithson - 2019.



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