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Pancryptobrancha
The Cryptobranchoidea are a suborder of salamanders found in Asia, European Russia, and the United States. They are known as primitive salamanders, in contrast to Salamandroidea, the advanced salamanders. It has two living subdivisions, Cryptobranchidae, which includes Asian giant salamanders and hellbenders, and Hynobiidae, commonly known as Asian salamanders. Some species of the fully aquatic family Cryptobranchidae are known as giant salamanders due to their large size. The oldest members of the group are known from the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) aged Yanliao Biota of China. Taxonomy This suborder contains only two families at present. All other members are extinct and are only known as fossils. *''Chunerpeton'' Haifanggou Formation, China, Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) (neotenic, has alternatively been recovered outside of Cryptobranchoidea) *''Jeholotriton'' Haifanggou Formation, China, Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) (neotenic) *''Pangerpeton'' Haifanggou Formation, China, Mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cryptobranchidae
The Cryptobranchidae are a family of fully aquatic salamanders commonly known as the giant salamanders. They include the largest living amphibians. The family is native to China, Japan, and the eastern United States. They constitute one of two living families within the Cryptobranchoidea, one of two main divisions of living salamanders, the other being the Asiatic salamanders belonging to the family Hynobiidae. The largest species are in the genus ''Andrias,'' native to east Asia''.'' The South China giant salamander (''Andrias sligoi''), can reach a length of .Andrias davidianus AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian biology and conservation. 2012. Berkeley, California: AmphibiaWeb. Retrieved 13 December 2012. The [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cryptobranchus Alleganiensis
The hellbender (''Cryptobranchus alleganiensis''), also known as the hellbender salamander, is a species of aquatic giant salamander endemic to the eastern and central United States. It is the largest salamander in North America. A member of the family Cryptobranchidae, the hellbender is the only extant member of the genus ''Cryptobranchus''. Other closely related salamanders in the same family are in the genus '' Andrias'', which contains the Japanese and Chinese giant salamanders. The hellbender, which is much larger than all other salamanders in its geographic range, employs an unusual means of respiration (which involves cutaneous gas exchange through capillaries found in its dorsoventral skin folds), and fills a particular niche—both as a predator and prey—in its ecosystem, which either it or its ancestors have occupied for around 65 million years. The species is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Etymology The origin of the name "hellb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Regalerpeton
''Regalerpeton'' is an extinct genus of cryptobranchoid salamander known from the Early Cretaceous of Huajiying Formation The Huajiying Formation is a geological formation in Hebei, People's Republic of China. Known for its fossils including feathered dinosaurs, the age of the formation is uncertain. It may represent an early portion of the Jehol Biota, dating to som ..., China. It was first named by Guilin Zhang, Yuan Wang, Marc E.H. Jones and Susan E. Evans in 2009 and the type species is ''Regalerpeton weichangensis''. References Cryptobranchoidea Cretaceous salamanders Early Cretaceous amphibians Fossil taxa described in 2009 Prehistoric amphibians of Asia Taxa named by Wang Yuan Prehistoric amphibian genera {{cretaceous-animal-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turonian
The Turonian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the second age in the Late Cretaceous Epoch, or a stage in the Upper Cretaceous Series. It spans the time between 93.9 ± 0.8 Ma and 89.8 ± 1 Ma (million years ago). The Turonian is preceded by the Cenomanian Stage and underlies the Coniacian Stage. At the beginning of the Turonian an oceanic anoxic event (OAE 2) took place, also referred to as the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary event or the "Bonarelli Event". Stratigraphic definition The Turonian (French: ''Turonien'') was defined by the French paleontologist Alcide d'Orbigny (1802–1857) in 1842. Orbigny named it after the French city of Tours in the region of Touraine (department Indre-et-Loire), which is the original type locality. The base of the Turonian Stage is defined as the place where the ammonite species '' Watinoceras devonense'' first appears in the stratigraphic column. The official reference profile (the GSSP) for the base of the Turonian is located ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bissekty Formation
The Bissekty Formation (sometimes referred to as Bissekt) is a geologic formation and Lagerstätte which crops out in the Kyzyl Kum desert of Uzbekistan, and dates to the Late Cretaceous Period. Laid down in the mid to late Turonian, it is dated to about 92 to 90 Ma (million years ago). Description The lithology of the sediment largely consists of cross bedded sandstones with interbeds of massive sandstone, well cemented intraformational conglomerate, siltstones and mudstones. Most of the fossils are found as clasts within the conglomerates. Fossil content The Bissekty Formation is characterised by a mix of marine, brackish, freshwater, and terrestrial animal fossils. This stands in contrast the strictly marine fossils found in the underlying Dzheirantui Formation, and indicates that the Bissekty was formed during the regression of a saltwater sea. The coastline expanded inland again in the upper portion of the Bissekty, represented by a proportional increase of fully aqu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neoteny
Neoteny (), also called juvenilization,Montagu, A. (1989). Growing Young. Bergin & Garvey: CT. is the delaying or slowing of the physiological, or somatic, development of an organism, typically an animal. Neoteny is found in modern humans compared to other primates. In progenesis or paedogenesis, sexual development is accelerated. Both neoteny and progenesis result in paedomorphism (as having the form typical of children) or paedomorphosis (changing towards forms typical of children), a type of heterochrony. It is the retention in adults of traits previously seen only in the young. Such retention is important in evolutionary biology, domestication and evolutionary developmental biology. Some authors define paedomorphism as the retention of larval traits, as seen in salamanders.Schell, S. C. ''Handbook of Trematodes of North America North of Mexico'', 1985, pg. 22 History and etymology The origins of the concept of neoteny have been traced to the Bible (as argued by Ashley M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haifanggou Formation
The Haifanggou Formation (), also known as the Jiulongshan Formation (), is a fossil-bearing rock deposit located near Daohugou () village of Ningcheng County, in Inner Mongolia, northeastern China. The formation consists of coarse conglomerates, sandstone, mudstone, and thin coal layers deposited in deltaic and lacustrine environments. The formation dates to the Callovian of the Middle Jurassic to the Oxfordian of the Late Jurassic. The most prominent locality of the Haifanggou Formation are the Daohugou Beds, located near the village of Daohugou in southeastern Inner Mongolia. Other localities include Wuhuaxigou, Chentaizi, Jiangzhangzi, Wubaiding, Guancaishan, Haifenggou, Fanzhangzi, and Zhuanshanzi. Dating Daohugou bed The age of the Daohugou bed has been debated, and a number of studies, using different methodologies, have reached conflicting conclusions. Various papers have placed the fossils here as being anywhere from the Middle Jurassic period (169 million ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yanliao Biota
The Yanliao Biota is the name given to an assembly of fossils preserved in northeastern China from the Middle to Late Jurassic.Xu, X., Zhou, Z., Sullivan, C. and Wang, Y., 2017. The Yanliao Biota: a trove of exceptionally preserved Middle-Late Jurassic terrestrial life forms. Terrestrial Conservation Lagerstätten. Dunedin Academic Press, London, pp.131-167. It includes fossils from the Tiaojishan Formation, Lanqi Formation, Jiulongshan Formation and Haifanggou Formation. This spans approximately 199 to 146 million years ago. Like the Jehol Biota, these deposits are composed of alternating layers of volcanic tuff and sediment, and are considered Lagerstätte. These are some of the best preserved Jurassic fossils in the world, and include many important dinosaur, mammal, salamander, insect and lizard specimens, as well as plants. History The first fossils of the Yanliao Biota were found around 1998 near the village of Daohugou in Inner Mongolia. The following year, the first t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bathonian
In the geologic timescale the Bathonian is an age and stage of the Middle Jurassic. It lasted from approximately 168.3 Ma to around 166.1 Ma (million years ago). The Bathonian Age succeeds the Bajocian Age and precedes the Callovian Age. Stratigraphic definitions The Bathonian Stage takes its name from Bath, a spa town in England built on Jurassic limestone (the Latinized form of the town name is ''Bathonium''). The name was introduced in scientific literature by Belgian geologist d'Omalius d'Halloy in 1843. The original type locality was located near Bath. The French palaeontologist Alcide d'Orbigny was in 1852 the first to define the exact length of the stage. The base of the Bathonian is at the first appearance of ammonite species '' Parkinsonia (Gonolkites) convergens'' in the stratigraphic column. The global reference profile for the base of the Bathonian (a GSSP) was ratified as Ravin du Bès, Bas-Auran area, Alpes de Haute Provence, France in 2009. The top of the Ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hellbender
The hellbender (''Cryptobranchus alleganiensis''), also known as the hellbender salamander, is a species of aquatic giant salamander endemic to the eastern and central United States. It is the largest salamander in North America. A member of the family Cryptobranchidae, the hellbender is the only extant member of the genus ''Cryptobranchus''. Other closely related salamanders in the same family are in the genus '' Andrias'', which contains the Japanese and Chinese giant salamanders. The hellbender, which is much larger than all other salamanders in its geographic range, employs an unusual means of respiration (which involves cutaneous gas exchange through capillaries found in its dorsoventral skin folds), and fills a particular niche—both as a predator and prey—in its ecosystem, which either it or its ancestors have occupied for around 65 million years. The species is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Etymology The origin of the name "he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andrias
''Andrias'' is a genus of giant salamanders. It includes the largest salamanders in the world, with ''A. japonicus'' reaching a length of , and ''A. sligoi'' reaching . While extant species are only known from East Asia, several extinct species in the genus are known from late Oligocene and Neogene aged fossils collected in Europe and North America, indicating that the genus formerly had a much wider range. Taxonomy The generic name derives from Ancient Greek ἀνδριάς, "statue". The former name was ''Megalobatrachus'', from Ancient Greek meaning "giant frog". Species Extant Based on genetic evidence, there may be more extant species in the genus. A study in 2018 found that ''A. davidianus'' ''sensu lato'' was a species complex In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with eac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salamandroidea
The Salamandroidea are a suborder of salamanders, referred to as advanced salamanders. The members of the suborder are found worldwide except for Antarctica, sub-Saharan Africa, and Oceania. They differ from suborder Cryptobranchoidea as the angular and prearticular bones in their lower jaws are fused, their trunk ribs are bicapitate, and all members use internal fertilization. The female is fertilized by means of a spermatophore, a sperm-containing cap placed by the male in her cloaca. The sperm is stored in spermathecae on the roof of the cloaca until it is needed at the time of oviposition. The earliest known salamandroid fossils are specimens of the species '' Beiyanerpeton jianpingensis'' and '' Qinglongtriton gangouensis'' from the Tiaojishan Formation of Inner Mongolia, China, dated to the Late Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
