Leptoropha

Leptoropha is an extinct genus of aquatic animals that belonged to the group of seymouriamorphs.

Seymouriamorphs were four-legged vertebrates that had features of both amphibians and reptiles.

They lived during the Permian period, about 279.5 to 268 million years ago.

Leptoropha had a short, parabolic skull with numerous teeth that had leaf-shaped crowns.

It also had canals on its skull that were part of a sensory system to detect vibrations in the water.

Leptoropha fed on algae and inhabited both saltwater and freshwater environments.

Leptoropha was first described by Russian paleontologist Pavel Chudinov in 1955, based on fossils found in the Kirov region of Russia.

He named two species of Leptoropha: L. novojilovi and L. talonophora.

The latter was originally assigned to another genus, Rhipaeosaurus, but later transferred to Leptoropha by Robert Reisz and Michel Laurin in 2001.

They also synonymized L. novojilovi with L. talonophora, making it the only valid species of the genus.

Leptoropha was one of the last surviving seymouriamorphs, as most of them went extinct by the end of the Permian period.

They were among the victims of the largest mass extinction event in Earth's history, which wiped out about 90% of all marine and 70% of all terrestrial species.

Leptoropha is an extinct genus of aquatic animals that belonged to the group of seymouriamorphs, which were related to amphibians.
Leptoropha lived in the Middle Permian period, about 279.5 to 268 million years ago.
Leptoropha was found in Russia, in the Kirov and Perm regions.
It inhabited both salty and fresh water bodies.