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Journal of the Geological Society

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Ecology of earliest reptiles inferred from basal Pennsylvanian trackways

^{1 1}Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1RJ, UK (e-mail: howard.falcon-lang{at}bristol.ac.uk)
^{2 2}172 Palisades Drive, Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada E1A 5K2

Trackways representing the earliest evidence for the origin of reptiles (amniotes) are reported from the basal Pennsylvanian Grande Anse Formation, New Brunswick, Canada. Amniote characters include pentadactyl manus and pes, slender digits whose relative lengths approximate a phalangeal formula of 23453 (manus) and 23454 (pes), narrow digit splay (40–63°), putative transverse scale impressions on digit pads, and straight tail drag. The trackways occur in the deposits of a seasonally active dryland river channel. Sedimentological context suggests, for the first time, that early amniotes existed in water-stressed environments, where the cleidoic egg would have presumably conferred reproductive advantage.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				D. G. KEIGHLEY, J. H. CALDER, A. F. PARK, R. K. PICKERILL, J. W.F. WALDRON, H. J. FALCON-LANG, and M. J. BENTON Discussion on ecology of earliest reptiles inferred from basal Pennsylvanian trackwaysJournal, Vol. 164, 2007, 1113-1118 Journal of the Geological Society, September 1, 2008; 165(5): 983 - 987. [Full Text] [PDF]