Chunerpeton tianyiensis Gao & Shubin, 2003

Taxonomy

Crown-Group Salamander

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia Linnaeus, 1758
Order: Urodela Dumeril, 1806
Family: Cryptobranchidae Fitzinger, 1826
Genus: Chunerpeton
Species: Chunerpeton tianyiensis
Author Citation Gao & Shubin, 2003

Geological Time Scale

Eon: Phanerozoic
Era: Mesozoic
Period: Jurassic
Sub Period: None
Epoch: Middle
International Age: Oxfordian

Stratigraphy

Lanqi Formation

Provenance

Collector: T. Bastelberger
Date Collected: 04/27/2017
Acquired by: Field Collection

Dimensions

Length: 10 cm

Location

Sahai Town, drywall near Guancaishan
Jianping County
Liaoning Province
China

• chunerpeton
• daohugou
• jianping
• jurassic
• liaoning
• nei mongol
• tff-oilshale-ch944

Comments

Taxonomy from Gao & Shubin 2003.

Identified by Prof Wang Yuan, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Beijing with the following remarks:

'The phalangeal formula for Chunerpeton is variable. This specimen falls in the range as I observed hundreds of specimens of this genus and species. One problem is that, as I noted in the last email, Gao and Shubin (2012) named Beiyanerpeton jianpingensis but it is actually a Chunerpeton by my judgement. The salamander you send to me should be from the same region, but a different quarry as "Beiyanerpeton".'

Diagnosis from Gao & Shubin 2003, p. 425: "Chunerpeton tianyiensis shares with living cryptobranchoids derived characters including: presacral vertebrae bearing unicapitate ribs; reduction in the number of rib-bearing anterior caudal vertebrae reduced to two or three. Chunerpeton tianyiensis shares with cryptobranchids derived characters such as: nasal much narrower than interorbital width; nasal–prefrontal contact absent; frontals extend anteriorly to lateral border of nasal; lachrymal absent; anterolateral process of parietal extends along lateral border of frontal; internal carotid foramina penetrate palatal surface of parasphenoid. Chunerpeton tianyiensis differs from extant cryptobranchids in lacking midline contact of dorsal processes of premaxillae; frontal–maxillary contact absent; absence of contact between anterolateral process of parietal and prefrontal; vomers without posterior extension; retention of palatal fenestra between vomers; presence of distinct medial process of pterygoid; pterygoid– parasphenoid contact absent; basibranchial II ossified and trident-shaped; first three pairs of ribs with spatulate distal end; phalangeal formula of 2-2-3-(3/4)-3 in pes."

Line drawing from Gao & Shubin 2003, p. 425:

The white mass next to the mouth seems to be either a regurgitate or a coprolite.

References:
K.-Q. Gao and N. H. Shubin. 2003. Earliest known crown-group salamanders. Nature 422:424-428.
Yuan Wang, Liping  & Susan E. Evans (2014) Polydactyly and other limb abnormalities in the Jurassic salamander Chunerpeton from China.Palaeobio Palaeoenv DOI 10.1007/s12549-015-0219-7.