Anatomy and phylogenetic relationships of Calamops paludosus (Temnospondyli, Stereospondyli) from the Triassic of the Newark Basin, Pennsylvania

ABSTRACT

The holotype of the large temnospondyl Calamops paludosus is the oldest known tetrapod fossil from the Triassic of the Newark basin in Pennsylvania. Although it is usually placed in Metoposauridae, its affinities have remained unknown since its original description because the unique specimen had never been prepared. Preparation and casting of the specimen, which comprises three pieces of a left mandibular ramus, now permits detailed anatomical description of the jaw and assessment of its affinities. Calamops paludosus is a valid taxon of trematosauroid temnospondyls that can be diagnosed by several autapomorphies. It represents one of the geologically youngest known records of long-snouted trematosaurs and the first record of these temnospondyls from the Late Triassic of North America.

SUPPLEMENTAL DATA—Supplemental materials are available for this article for free at www.tandfonline.com/UJVP

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are indebted to the late D. Baird for the casts of Calamops paludosus and associated data, A. D. Lewis for his excellent preparation work, and P. E. Olsen for many informative discussions on the geology and paleontology of the Newark Supergroup. H.-D.S. gratefully acknowledges an Award for Excellence in Research and Teaching from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. We thank J.-S. Steyer and especially A. Warren for helpful comments on the manuscript.

Handling editor: Jason Anderson