Albanerpeton

Albanerpeton Temporal range: Cretaceous to Late Pliocene
File:Albanerpeton BW.jpg
Life restoration of Albanerpeton
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	†Allocaudata
Family:	†Albanerpetontidae
Genus:	†Albanerpeton Estes and Hoffstetter, 1976
Species
†A. inexpectatum Estes and Hoffstetter, 1976 (type) †A. galaktion Fox and Naylor, 1981 †A. nexuosus Estes, 1981 †A. arthridion Fox and Naylor, 1982 †A. cifellii Gardner, 1999 †A. gracilis Gardner, 2000 †A. pannonicus Venczel and Gardner, 2005

Albanerpeton is an extinct genus of salamander-like lissamphibian found in North America and Europe. Members of the genus had a robust head and neck which likely allowed them to actively burrow, and they lived in a wide range of environments. This genus of amphibian was the last of its order, surviving until the late Pliocene in southern Europe, and likely went extinct when the region developed its present Mediterranean-type climate.

Phylogeny

Cladogram from Gardner (2002):

Albanerpetontidae	Anoualerpeton Celtedens Kirtlington sp. Albanerpeton A. arthridion Gracile-snouted clade A. cifellii A. galaktion A. gracilis Robust-snouted clade A. nexuosus Paskapoo sp. A. inexpectatum

References

• Delfino, M. and Sala, B. 2007. Late Pliocene Albanerpetontidae (Lissamphibia) from Italy. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 27(3):716–719
• Fossil Salamanders of North America (Life of the Past) by J. Alan Holman