Dendrerpeton is a Temnospondyl amphibian from late Carboniferous Nova Scotia. Its length is approximately 35 centimeters.
History and discovery[]
The majority of Dendrerpeton fossils that had been discovered were disarticulated due to the way in which they had formed. They are often associated with Lycopod, Sigillaria, and Calamite tree stumps which decayed inside and became hollow, and are found in Parrsboro formation and the Joggins formation in Nova Scotia. There is also evidence for articulated specimens in Ireland at the Jarrow Colliery. However, they were found to be enveloped by substance that had a very low pH. Although not all specimens were equally affected and some were well preserved, many were not because of this pH. In general, many of the fossils are found in the trunks of these trees or coal swamps.
In 1861 one of the first skeleton of Dendrerpeton acadianum almost in its entirety was discovered by J.W. Dawson at the South of Joggins, Nova Scotia. It was part of the trunk of a tree, and likely this trunk in which the animal had been was about four feet deep. The skeleton however remained because the bark was preserved due to coal that was bituminous. In 1998 came the first skeleton of Dendrerpeton acadianum that was nearly completely articulated, again from the Joggins of Nova Scotia. It was essentially undisturbed, and in this case was not associated with a tree but instead with a boulder found at a beach. This specimen provided the opportunity for a deeper understanding of the skeleton of this taxon because of its three-dimensionality and the detail preserved.