Hylonomus
Hylonomus lyelli
Hylonomus is regarded as one of the earliest known amniotes and marks reproduction becoming less dependent on water.
Image: Natural History Museum, London, modified by Jason D. Pardo, Kendra Lennie & Jason S. Anderson (2020) · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
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Characteristics
- Scientific name
- Hylonomus lyelli
- Period
- Late Carboniferous
- Lived
- 315–312 Ma (315 million years ago)
- Diet
- Insectivore
- Habitat
- Forest, Swamp
- Length (estimate)
- 0.2 m
Description
Hylonomus was a small, lizard-like vertebrate with four legs, a long tail and small teeth. Fossils have been found inside fossilised tree stumps, where the animal may have sheltered or hunted insects. Its reproductive method is not directly known, but early amniotes could develop eggs away from water. The limited fossil remains make details of its behaviour and skin difficult to establish.
Habitat
A moist forest floor with tree stumps and rotting wood.
Fossil sites
Joggins, Nova Scotia
Joggins Formation
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Contemporaries in the database
Sources: Hylonomus