Utaherpeton

Utaherpeton
Restoration of Utaherpeton franklini
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Order:	†Microsauria
Genus:	†Utaherpeton Carroll et al., 1991
Type species
†Utaherpeton franklini Carroll et al., 1991

Utaherpeton is an extinct genus of lepospondyl amphibian from the Carboniferous of Utah. It is one of the oldest and possibly one of the most basal ("primitive") known lepospondyls. The genus is monotypic, including only the type species Utaherpeton franklini. Utaherpeton was named in 1991 from the Manning Canyon Shale Formation, which dates to the Mississippian-Pennsylvanian boundary.^[1] It was originally classified within Microsauria, a group of superficially lizard- and salamander-like lepospondyls that is now no longer considered to be a valid clade or evolutionary grouping, but rather an evolutionary grade consisting of the most basal lepospondyls. Utaherpeton has been proposed as both the most basal lepospondyl and the oldest "microsaur", although more derived lepospondyls are known from earlier in the Carboniferous. However, its position within Lepospondyli remains uncertain due to the incomplete preservation of the only known specimen. The inclusion of Utaherpeton in various phylogenetic analyses has resulted in multiple phylogenies (hypotheses of evolutionary relationships) that are very different from one another, making it a significant taxon in terms of understanding the interrelationships of lepospondyls.