''Platycepsion wilksoni'' is an extinct species of prehistoric

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 ...

, known from partial skeleton deposited in shale at the Gosford Quarry site of the

Terrigal Formation The Terrigal Formation is a geologic formation in the Sydney Basin in eastern Australia. Commonly seen in the Central Coast region, this stratum is up to 330 metres thick. Formed in the early to mid Triassic, it is part of the Narrabeen Group ...

in Australia. This specimen may represent a larval stage, as denoted by the presence of external gills, making it the first evidence of larval development in

stereospondyls The Stereospondyli are a group of extinct temnospondyl amphibians that existed primarily during the Mesozoic period. They are known from all seven continents and were common components of many Triassic ecosystems, likely filling a similar ecologi ...

Taxonomy

The species is assigned to a currently monotypic genus, the synonym ''Platyceps wilkinsonii'', a name published in 1887 by the Australian palaeontologist William Stephens, was nominated as the type. A revision in 1964 by

Oskar Kuhn Oskar Kuhn (7 March 1908, Munich – 1 May 1990) was a German palaeontologist. Life and career Kuhn was educated in Dinkelsbühl and Bamberg and then studied natural science, specialising in geology and paleontology, at the University of Mun ...

assigned the species to the genus ''Platycepsion'' to replace the earlier combination, which was invalidated by an earlier use of the name ''

Platyceps ''Platyceps'' is a genus of snakes of the Family (biology), family Colubridae endemic to Eurasia. Taxonomy The genus was erected in 1860 by Edward Blyth, allying species previously described. The genus name ''Platyceps'' was inadvertently use ...

'' for a

colubrid Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from , 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest fossil species of the family date back to the Late Eocene epoch, with earlier origins suspected. Colu ...

genus of snakes. Another revising author John W. Cosgriff named the species as the type for a new genus, ''Blinasaurus'', unaware of Kuhn's replacement of the name, and placed a second species in the same genus, later separated to a new combination as '' Batrachosuchus henwoodi''. The author noted the epithet ''Wilkinsonii'' in the first description as commemorating the deputy chair of the

Linnean Society of New South Wales The Linnean Society of New South Wales promotes ''the Cultivation and Study of the Science of Natural History in all its Branches'' and was founded in Sydney, New South Wales (Australia) in 1874 and incorporated in 1884. History The Society succ ...

, C. S. Wilkinson.

References

Stereospondyli {{temnospondyli-stub