Kiyatriton leshchinskiyi: a Cryptobranchoid Salamander From Aptian/Albian Cretaceous Russia

Kiyatriton leshchinskiyi Averianov et Voronkevich, 2001, a crown-group salamander from the Lower Cretaceous of Western Siberia, Russia

Author:

Skutschas

Abstract:

Crown-group salamander Kiyatriton leshchinskiyi, from the Lower Cretaceous (Aptian–Albian) Ilek Formation of the Shestakovo locality in Western Siberia, Russia, was the first “lissamphibian” discovered from the Mesozoic of Russia and it is the only Early Cretaceous salamander from Asia which was found outside China. In this paper a detailed redescription of type and newly collected material on Kiyatriton leshchinskiyi, consisting fragmentary cranial and postcranial bones is presented. The structure of the atlas, trunk vertebrae and femur suggest that Kiyatriton leshchinskiyi may be a member of the Cryptobranchoidea.