Greererpeton

Greererpeton Temporal range: Viséan 345.3–328.3 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Specimen CMNH 11090, one of the largest and most complete Greererpeton skeletons known
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Clade:	Sarcopterygii
Clade:	Tetrapodomorpha
Family:	†Colosteidae
Genus:	†Greererpeton
Species:	†G. burkemorani
Binomial name
†Greererpeton burkemorani Romer, 1969

Greererpeton burkemorani ("crawler from Greer, West Virginia") is an extinct genus of colosteid stem-tetrapods from the Early Carboniferous period (late Viséan) of North America. Greererpeton was first described by famed vertebrate paleontologist Alfred S. Romer in 1969, based on a skull and partial skeleton from the Bluefield Formation.^[1] The skull was redescribed by Timothy R. Smithson in 1982,^[2] while postcranial remains were redescribed by Stephen J. Godfrey in 1989.^[3]

Greererpeton were probably aquatic, with an elongated body adapted for swimming. Adults have overall length of 1.0–1.4 metres (3.3–4.6 ft)^[3] or 1.5 metres (4.9 ft),^[4] similar in size to modern Asian giant salamanders (Andrias). The body was elongated, with about 40 vertebrae, while the flattened skull reached about 18 centimetres (7.1 in) long in adult specimens. The most complete adult specimen only preserved 12 tail vertebrae, only about a third the length of the body as in Andrias. However, smaller specimens have been found preserving over 30 vertebrae, so it is not inconceivable that a complete tail was approximately as long as the body.^[3] The limbs were short, though not vestigial; the fingers were still well-developed. Greererpeton were carnivores which probably lived in rivers and swamps.^[5]