''Tseajaia'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

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 ...

diadectomorph Diadectomorpha is a clade of large tetrapods that lived in Euramerica during the Carboniferous and Early Permian periods and in Asia during Late Permian (Wuchiapingian), They have typically been classified as advanced reptiliomorphs (transitional ...

tetrapod A tetrapod (; from Ancient Greek :wiktionary:τετρα-#Ancient Greek, τετρα- ''(tetra-)'' 'four' and :wiktionary:πούς#Ancient Greek, πούς ''(poús)'' 'foot') is any four-Limb (anatomy), limbed vertebrate animal of the clade Tetr ...

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 (Urban Zakapa album), ''01'' (Urban Zakapa album), 2011 * ''01011 ...

of western

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 ...

. The skeleton is that of a medium-sized, rather advanced reptile-like animal. In life it was about long and may have looked vaguely like an

iguana ''Iguana'' (, ) is a genus of herbivorous lizards that are native to tropical areas of Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. The genus was first described by Austrian naturalist Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti, J.N. Laurenti in ...

. The dentition was somewhat blunt, indicating

herbivory A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically evolved to feed on plants, especially upon vascular tissues such as foliage, fruits or seeds, as the main component of its diet. These more broadly also encompass animals that eat n ...

or possibly

omnivory An omnivore () is an animal that regularly consumes significant quantities of both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize th ...

. It contains a single known species, ''Tseajaia campi''.

Discovery

The

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

of ''Tseajaia'' is a nearly complete skeleton, specimen

UCMP The University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP) is a paleontology museum located on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. The museum is within the Valley Life Sciences Building (VLSB), designed by George W. Kelham a ...

V4225 / 59012, which is from the lowermost

Organ Rock Shale The Organ Rock Formation or Organ Rock Shale is a formation within the late Pennsylvanian to early Permian Cutler Group and is deposited across southeastern Utah, northwestern New Mexico, and northeastern Arizona. This formation notably outcrops ar ...

or uppermost Cedar Mesa Sandstone. It was discovered by a field party led by Charles L. Camp working in

San Juan County, Utah San Juan County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 14,518. Its county seat is Monticello, Utah, Monticello, while its most popu ...

in June, 1942. The field work and the resulting discovery of ''Tseajaia'' was recorded in a 1942 article in '' Desert Magazine''. A second specimen, UCMP V4216 / 63841, is a sequence of vertebrae from the same locality, also discovered by Camp's team. Two additional nearly complete skeletons, CM 38033 and CM 38042, were later discovered in the

Cutler Formation The Cutler Formation or Cutler Group is a stratigraphic unit exposed across the U.S. states of Arizona, northwest New Mexico, southeast Utah and southwest Colorado. It was laid down in the Early Permian during the Wolfcampian epoch. Desc ...

Rio Arriba County, New Mexico Rio Arriba County () is a List of counties in New Mexico, county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 40,363. Its county seat is Tierra Amarilla, New Mexico, Tierra Amarilla. Its ...

. The specimens from New Mexico were first reported in 1980, though they have yet to be fully described. ''Tseajaia'' was named and described by Peter Paul Vaughn in 1964. The

genus name Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial spec ...

comes from "Tse Ajai" ("Rock Heart"), a nearby igneous plug used as a landmark by the

Navajo The Navajo or Diné are an Indigenous people of the Southwestern United States. Their traditional language is Diné bizaad, a Southern Athabascan language. The states with the largest Diné populations are Arizona (140,263) and New Mexico (1 ...

. The species name honors Charles L. Camp. It was subsequently redescribed by John Moss in 1972. Though the slab of rock containing the tail was lost between 1964 and 1972, though it was rediscovered by 1990.

Classification

''Tseajaia'' was described from a single, fairly complete specimen and was given its own family, Tseajaiidae, by Vaughn (1964). It was originally thought to be a seymouriamorph. Additional finds allowing for a better taxonomic analysis indicate they belong in the

Diadectomorpha Diadectomorpha is a clade of large tetrapods that lived in Euramerica during the Carboniferous and Early Permian periods and in Asia during Late Permian (Wuchiapingian), They have typically been classified as advanced reptiliomorphs (transitiona ...

, as the sister group to the large and more derived

Diadectidae Diadectidae is an extinct family of early tetrapods that lived in what is now North America and Europe during the Late Carboniferous and Early Permian, and in Asia during the Late Permian. They were the first herbivorous tetrapods, and also the f ...

. ''Tseajaia'' itself being a fairly generalized form, gives a reasonable indication of the build and looks of the closest relatives of the

amniote Amniotes are tetrapod vertebrate animals belonging to the clade Amniota, a large group that comprises the vast majority of living terrestrial animal, terrestrial and semiaquatic vertebrates. Amniotes evolution, evolved from amphibious Stem tet ...

References

External links

''Tseajaia''
in the

Paleobiology Database The Paleobiology Database (PBDB) is an online resource for information on the distribution and classification of fossil animals, plants, and microorganisms. History The Paleobiology Database originated in the NCEAS-funded Phanerozoic Marine Pale ...

{{Taxonbar, from=Q962437 Diadectomorpha Cisuralian tetrapods of North America Transitional fossils