page_title: Diplovertebron
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Diplovertebron / Description
caption_attribution_description: Diplovertebron punctatum, an embolomeri from the Late Carboniferous of Europe, pencil drawing
context_page_description: Diplovertebron is an extinct genus of embolomere that lived in the Late Carboniferous period, about 310 million years ago. Diplovertebron was a medium-sized animal, around 50 cm in length. Members of the genus inhabited European Carboniferous swamps in what is now the Czech Republic. They were closely related to larger swamp-dwelling tetrapods like Proterogyrinus and Anthracosaurus. However, Diplovertebron were much smaller than these large, crocodile-like creatures. Known from a single species, Diplovertebron punctatum, this genus has had a complicated history closely tied to Gephyrostegus, another genus of small, reptile-like amphibians.
context_section_description: Historical recounts of Diplovertebron between 1926 and 1967 typically reconstructed it as a reptile-like terrestrial animal with five-fingered hands and feet. However, these reconstructions were created using more complete skeletal remains of Gephyrostegus and Solenodonsaurus, which at the time were considered to be synonymous with Diplovertebron. Without these skeletons, the fossil remains of Diplovertebron are much more limited. Nowadays it is assumed that Diplovertebron was partially or fully aquatic, akin to other embolomeres like Archeria and Proterogyrinus. Nevertheless, it was probably still similar to Gephyrostegus in terms of general proportions.
  Like other embolomeres, each of Diplovertebron's vertebrae were composed of two ring-shaped components of equal size. Frič originally regarded this as a unique feature, but as early as 1884, E.D. Cope drew connections between the vertebrae of Diplovertebron and "Cricotus" (an American embolomere more commonly known as Archeria). The preserved vertebrae were from the tail region, since the front segment (intercentrum) connected to thin haemal arches.
  The fragmentary skull bones are only slightly ornamented with striations, rather than the numerous pits that were present in its relatives. The premaxilla contained five thick and conical teeth, about twice as long as they were wide. The maxilla likely had over 30 teeth in it, and its teeth were thinner than those of the premaxilla. The teeth towards the front of the maxilla were thicker and more widely separated, while those at the back were closely packed. The teeth of the lower jaw were more numerous, closely packed, and much smaller than those of the upper jaw. There were over 40 in total, and the first 7 were the largest and most well-spaced. All of the teeth possessed maze-like enamel folding similar to other "labyrinthodonts". These dental features showed some similarities to the teeth of Calligenethlon, an embolomere which was similar in size to Diplovertebron.
  The belly was covered with long, oblong scales with rounded edges, while the back was bare. Various limb bones were preserved. Unusually, they were covered with tiny pores. The humerus had a strong diagonal ridge along half of its shaft, similar to that of Archeria. The pelvis was also quite similar to that of Archeria and Calligenethlon in the fact that the ilium had a structure typical for embolomeres: two rod-like prongs atop a short "stem". The front prong was short, but the rear prong was very long Frič (1885) referred an interclavicle to Diplovertebron, though it may have actually been from Gephyrostegus instead.
caption: Life restoration of Diplovertebron
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