Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
526 / Paleozoic
Melanerpeton
Melanerpeton pusillum
A tiny body and retained gill structures marked a branchiosaurid amphibian.
View original image · 1600 × 1067- Time range
- About 305–299 million years ago
- Final stage
- Latest Carboniferous
- Geographic range
- Forest ponds · Czechia and Germany
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Melanerpeton?
Melanerpeton (Melanerpeton pusillum) was an extinct organism known from About 305–299 million years ago, with a range in Forest ponds · Czechia and Germany.
Life and ecology
It remained aquatic for much of life and ate insect larvae and small crustaceans.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Melanerpeton disappear?
Shrinking wetlands and changing pond communities are possible context; the fossil record does not establish a specific cause.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Melanerpeton?
Growth series preserve gill arches and limbs; lifelong paedomorphosis remains debated.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Rewrote an extinction cause that presented environmental or faunal turnover as established; it is now given as context the record does not prove.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS