| Kourerpeton Temporal range:Permian orEarly Triassic | |
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| Family: | †Kourerpetidae |
| Genus: | †Kourerpeton Olson and Lammers, 1976 |
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Kourerpeton is an extinctgenus ofdvinosauriantemnospondyl. Fossils ofKourerpeton were discovered in a window of a barber's shop in eitherBisbee orMesa, Arizona.[1]Kourerpeton was named in 1976, with thetype and only species beingK. bradyi.[2] It was originally assigned to the monotypicfamilyKourerpetidae, which has beenalternatively spelled Kourerpetontidae.[3][4]
Because it was not foundin situ, the provenance and age ofKourerpeton is unknown. The fossils are rumored to have been from theGlen Rose Formation nearGlen Rose, Texas.[1] Olson and Lammers (1976) discredited this idea because they noted that the Glen Rose Formation isCretaceous in age, and therefore not a likely source for a temnospondyl.[a][2] Several studies have claimed that it isPermian orEarly Triassic in age. Warren (1999) suggested thatKourerpeton is from an unknownGuadalupian (Middle Permian) to Early Triassic locality inNorth America, or possibly even from a locality outside North America.[5] Milner and Sequeira (2004) have proposed thatKourerpeton may have been from theEarly PermianSan Angelo Formation inTexas, which has also been the source of thetupilakosauridSlaugenhopia. The San Angelo Formation is in close proximity to the Glen Rose Formation, occurring in a north–south belt across north-central Texas about 80 miles (130 km) west of Glen Rose.[1]
Kourerpeton is usually classified in its own dvinosaurian family, the Kourerpetidae. Milner and Sequeira (2004) suggested thatKourerpeton may be a tupilakosaurid based on similarities with the genusSlaugenhopia. LikeSlaugenhopia,Kourerpeton possesses enlargedpostorbitals and reducedpostfrontals, bones that form the portion of theskull roof above theeye sockets. BothKourerpeton andSlaugenhopia possess incomplete-ring intercentra, which form thecenra ofvertebrae. The pleurocentra, which also comprise the centra, are slender and crescentic in both genera. UnlikeSlaugenhopia,Kourerpeton lacks an incisure, or notch, on thepterygoid bone of thepalate. InSlaugenhopia, this incisure appears as a deep notch in the posterior margin of the central palate. InKourerpeton, the posterior edge of the skull table is strongly undulated, and has a medial concavity. This is unlikeSlaugenhopia, which has a relatively straight skull roof margin. Based on these differences, Milner and Sequeira (2004) consideredKourerpeton to be a primitivestem-tupilakosaurid.[1]
