Parrisia
Encyclopedia
Parrisia is an extinct genus
of legless batrachosauroidid salamander
from Campanian
-age rocks in the Marshalltown Formation
, Monmouth County, New Jersey
. The type and only species is Parrisia neocesariensis, which was discovered at the Ellisdale Fossil Site
in New Jersey.
Along with other amphibians found at the site, Parrisia is one of the first representative fossil amphibians from Late Cretaceous North America. As well as being legless, Parrisia also preyed on other animals.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of legless batrachosauroidid salamander
Salamander
Salamander is a common name of approximately 500 species of amphibians. They are typically characterized by a superficially lizard-like appearance, with their slender bodies, short noses, and long tails. All known fossils and extinct species fall under the order Caudata, while sometimes the extant...
from Campanian
Campanian
The Campanian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the fifth of six ages of the Late Cretaceous epoch . The Campanian spans the time from 83.5 ± 0.7 Ma to 70.6 ± 0.6 Ma ...
-age rocks in the Marshalltown Formation
Marshalltown Formation
The Marshalltown Formation is a Mesozoic geologic formation. Dinosaur remains diagnostic to the genus level are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.-See also:* List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations...
, Monmouth County, New Jersey
Monmouth County, New Jersey
Monmouth County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 630,380, up from 615,301 at the 2000 census. Its county seat is Freehold Borough. The most populous municipality is Middletown Township with...
. The type and only species is Parrisia neocesariensis, which was discovered at the Ellisdale Fossil Site
Ellisdale Fossil Site
The Ellisdale Fossil Site is located in the valley of the Crosswicks Creek in Monmouth County, New Jersey. The site has produced the largest and most diverse fauna of Late Cretaceous terrestrial animals from eastern North America, including the type specimens of the teiid lizard Prototeius stageri...
in New Jersey.
Along with other amphibians found at the site, Parrisia is one of the first representative fossil amphibians from Late Cretaceous North America. As well as being legless, Parrisia also preyed on other animals.