Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Prosirenidae, a New Family of Fossil Salamanders

Nature volume 224, pages 87–88 (1969)Cite this article

Abstract

THE geological record of salamanders is poor. The few known fossils give little information on relationships of this group of amphibians, which currently includes eight living and three extinct families1. Salamanders are considered to be close relatives of other living Amphibia (frogs and apodans) and have been placed in a subclass Lissamphibia2. The ancestry of lissamphibians is not well documented, but unpublished information indicates that my suggestion1 that they are related to primitive temnospondyl labyrinthodonts may be correct.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Estes, R., Univ. California Publ. Geol. Sci., 49, 1 (1964); Amer. Zool., 5, 319 (1965).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Parsons, T., and Williams, E., J. Morphol., 110, 375 (1962); Quart. Rev. Biol., 38, 26 (1963).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Goin, C., and Auffenberg, W., Fieldiana, Geol., 10, 449 (1958).

    Google Scholar 

  4. Nevo, E., and Estes, R., Copeia (3), 540 (1969).

  5. McKenna, M., Curator, 5, 221 (1962).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Wake, D., Mem. S. Calif. Acad. Sci., 4, 1 (1966).

    Google Scholar 

  7. Soler, E., Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull., 33, 459 (1950).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Auffenberg, W., Bull. Florida State Mus., 4, 253 (1959).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Estes, R., Copeia (1), 90 (1965).

  10. Estes, R., Copeia (2), 228 (1969).

  11. Noble, G., The Biology of the Amphibia, 473 (Dover, New York, 1954).

    Google Scholar 

  12. Regal, P., Evolution, 20, 392 (1966).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Larsen, R., thesis, Univ. Washington (1963), Univ. Microfilms, 63–5712, 1 (1965).

  14. Goin, C., and Goin, O., Introduction to Herpetology, 64 (W. H. Freeman, San Francisco, 1963).

    Google Scholar 

  15. Salthe, S., and Kaplan, N., Evolution, 20, 603 (1966).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Hecht, M., Systematic Zool., 12, 20 (1963).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Hecht, M., and Estes, R., Postilla, 46, 1 (1960).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, 02215

    R. ESTES

Authors
  1. R. ESTES
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

ESTES, R. Prosirenidae, a New Family of Fossil Salamanders. Nature 224, 87–88 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1038/224087a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/224087a0

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing