''Amphibamus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of amphibamid

temnospondyl Temnospondyli (from Greek language, Greek τέμνειν, ''temnein'' 'to cut' and σπόνδυλος, ''spondylos'' 'vertebra') or temnospondyls is a diverse ancient order (biology), order of small to giant tetrapods—often considered Labyrinth ...

amphibian Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all Tetrapod, tetrapods, but excl ...

s from the

Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a Geologic time scale, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era that spans 60 million years, from the end of the Devonian Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the ...

(middle Pennsylvanian) of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. This animal is considered to have been close to the ancestry of modern amphibians. Its length was about . The generic name ''Amphibamus'' alludes to the two modes of locomotion of the animal, swimming with its oar-shaped tail, and crawling because of its long fingers with claws, from Greek '' ἀμφί'' (''amphí'') "both" and '' -βάμων'' (''-bámōn'') "that goes" or ''βᾶμα'' (''bâma'') "leg".

Gallery

Image:Amphibamus.jpg, ''Amphibamus grandiceps'' skeleton image:Amphibamus grandiceps fossil.jpg, ''Amphibamus grandiceps'' fossil

References

Amphibamids Dissorophidae Carboniferous temnospondyls of North America Taxa named by Edward Drinker Cope Fossil taxa described in 1865 Prehistoric amphibian genera {{Temnospondyli-stub