Karaurus

Article summary

Karaurus (meaning head-tail) is an extinct monospecific genus of stem-group salamander (Caudata) from the Middle to Late Jurassic (Callovian –Kimmeridgian) Karabastau Formation of Kazakhstan. It is one of the oldest salamanders known. Karaurus was large for a Jurassic salamander, about long, and very similar anatomically to modern salamanders. Karaurus is thought to have fed using suction feeding via the enlargement of the buccal cavity on small fish and invertebrates, with the well-developed palatal dentition (teeth on the roof of the mouth) and marginal teeth mandatory to grasp prey. Karaurus is thought to form a clade with Kokartus from the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) of Kyrgyzstan, and Marmorerpeton from the Bathonian of the United Kingdom, together forming the Karauridae, which are closely related to crown salamanders. Like other members of Karauridae, Karaurus is neotenic.

Key claims

No claims recorded.

Discussion questions

1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
2. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
3. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

No sources recorded.