''Reiszerpeton'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

dissorophid Dissorophidae is an extinct family of medium-sized, temnospondyl amphibians that flourished during the late Carboniferous and early Permian periods. The clade is known almost exclusively from North America. History of study Dissorophidae is a ...

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

known from the

Early Permian 01 or '01 may refer to: * The year 2001, or any year ending with 01 * The month of January * 1 (number) Music * '01 (Richard Müller album), 01'' (Richard Müller album), 2001 * 01 (Son of Dave album), ''01'' (Son of Dave album), 2000 * 01 (Urban ...

Archer City Formation The Archer City Formation is a geologic formation in Texas. It preserves fossils dating back to the Permian period. See also * List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Texas * Paleontology in Texas Paleontology in Texas refers to paleont ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. It is known solely from the

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

, MCZ 1911, a complete

skull The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, the ...

. This specimen was originally referred to the

amphibamiform Amphibamiformes is an unranked clade with Dissorophoidea created by Schoch (2018). It encompasses all of the taxa traditionally considered to be "amphibamids" (subsequently restricted to '' Doleserpeton annectens'' and '' Amphibamus grandiceps'' ...

'' Tersomius texensis''. A reappraisal of the holotype of ''T. texensis'' and a number of other referred specimens by Maddin et al. (2013) noted a number of differences from both ''T. texensis'' and amphibamiforms more broadly that suggested affinities with the Dissorophidae. This was confirmed by a phylogenetic analysis, which placed it as the sister taxon to the

Eucacopinae Eucacopinae is an extinct clade (evolutionary grouping) of dissorophid temnospondyls. Eucacopines differ from the other main group of dissorophids, the Dissorophinae, in having more lightly built skeletons and more knobby skulls. The subfamily w ...

(''

Cacops ''Cacops'' ("ugly look" for its strange appearance), is a genus of dissorophid temnospondyls from the Kungurian stage of the early Permian of the United States. ''Cacops'' is one of the few olsoniforms (dissorophids and the larger trematopids) w ...

'' + ''

Zygosaurus ''Zygosaurus'' is an extinct genus of dissorophid temnospondyl from the Middle-Late Permian of Russia. It was described in 1848 by Eduard Eichwald, making it the first dissorophid to be described and is known from a single species, ''Zygosaurus ...

'' + ''

Kamacops ''Kamacops'' is a genus of dissorophid temnospondyls known from the Middle to Late Permian of Russia that was described by Yuri Gubin in 1980. It is known from a single species, ''Kamacops acervalis,'' material of which is currently reposited ...

''). ''Reiszerpeton'' is known only from the type species, ''R. renascentis'', which was named for Canadian paleontologist

Robert Reisz Robert Rafael Reisz is a Canadian paleontologist and specialist in the study of early amniote and tetrapod evolution. Research career Reisz received his B.Sc. (1969), M.Sc. (1971) and Ph.D. (1975) from McGill University as Robert L. Carrol ...

. The species name refers to the recognition of Reisz as a "renaissance paleontologist." It is differentiated from other dissorophids by its small size, small and more numerous maxillary teeth, smooth cranial ornamentation, and greater distance between the orbit and the otic notch.

Phylogeny

Below is the 50% majority rule consensus tree from Maddin et al. (2013):

References

Dissorophids Cisuralian temnospondyls of North America Permian geology of Texas Fossil taxa described in 2013 Prehistoric amphibian genera Paleontology in Texas {{temnospondyli-stub