| Eoscansor | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Synapsida |
| Family: | †Varanopidae |
| Genus: | †Eoscansor Lucaset al., 2022 |
| Species: | †E. cobrensis |
| Binomial name | |
| †Eoscansor cobrensis Lucaset al., 2022 | |
Eoscansor (EE-oh-SKAN-sor; meaning "dawn climber") is a species of smallvaranopidamniote that lives from the upperPennsylvanian subperiod in northernNew Mexico, United States 305 million years ago. The speciesEoscansor cobrensis was 24.5 centimeters (9.6 inches) long and weighed 58.3 grams. The tetrapods teeth indicated that it was insectivorous. The small size and grasping limbs means that wasE. cobrensis highly agile and likelyarboreal (tree climbing).[1] The nameEoscansor means "dawn climber", derived fromGreek with "Eo" meaning dawn and "scansor" meaning climber.E. cobrensis is currently the oldest specialised climbing tetrapod animal pushing back the original record by 15 million years.[2][3] The species was discovered in theEl Cobre Canyon Formation in northernNew Mexico near the village ofChama in 2005 but was not prepared until 2015. TheCOVID-19 pandemic in 2020 pushed study back until 2022 where it was described as a new genus and species.Eoscansor fossil holotype (NMMHS P-75122) is part of theNew Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science (NMMNHS) collection.[4][5]
The holotype specimen ofE. cobrensis is incomplete. Preserved skeletal remains consist of someskull fragments, an incompletedentary with severalteeth,atlas,axis. The fossil includes twoanterior vertebrae and at least tendorsal vertebrae, eightcaudal vertebrae, incompleteinterclavicle, parts of bothclavicles,rib bones andgastralia,humeri, rightraidus,ulnae, partial left and rightmanus and leftilium. The skeleton also includes aischium,pubis,femora (~22mm),tibiae,fibulae and both left and right incomplete pedes.[3]
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