Amphibamus Explained

Amphibamus is a genus of amphibamid temnospondyl amphibians from the Carboniferous (middle Pennsylvanian) of North America.^{[1] [2] [3]} This animal is considered to have been close to the ancestry of modern amphibians. Its length was about .^[4]

The generic name Amphibamus alludes to the two modes of locomotion of the animal, swimming with its oar-shaped tail, and crawling because of its long fingers with claws,^[5] from Greek ἀμφί (amphí) "both" and -βάμων (-bámōn) "that goes" or βᾶμα (bâma) "leg".

Notes and References

1. Gaining Ground: The Origin and Early Evolution of Tetrapods by Jennifer A. Clack
2. Vertebrate Palaeontology by Michael J. Benton
3. The Book of Life: An Illustrated History of the Evolution of Life on Earth, Second Edition by Stephen Jay Gould
4. http://palaeos.com/vertebrates/temnospondyli/temnospondyli.html Temnospondyli
5. Cope . Edward . Edward Drinker Cope . 1865 . On Amphibamus Grandiceps, a New Batrachian from the Coal Measures . Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia . 17 . 3 . 134-137 . October 29, 2023.