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''Hylonomus'' (; ''hylo-'' "forest" + ''nomos'' "dweller")〔(Genus ''Hylonomus'' Etymology )〕 is an extinct genus of reptile that lived 312 million years ago during the Late Carboniferous period. It is the earliest unquestionable reptile (''Westlothiana'' is older, but in fact it may have been an amphibian, and ''Casineria'' is rather fragmentary). The only species is the type species ''Hylonomous lyelli''. ''Hylonomus'' was long (including the tail) and probably would have looked rather similar to modern lizards. It had small sharp teeth and likely ate small invertebrates such as millipedes or early insects. Fossils of ''Hylonomus'' have been found in the remains of fossilized club moss stumps in Joggins, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is supposed that, after harsh weather, the club mosses would crash down, with the stumps eventually rotting and hollowing out. Small animals such as ''Hylonomus'', seeking shelter, would enter and become trapped, starving to death. An alternative hypothesis is that the animals made their nests in the hollow tree stumps. Fossils of the basal pelycosaur ''Archaeothyris'' and the basal diapsid ''Petrolacosaurus'' are also found in the same region of Nova Scotia, although from a higher stratum, dated approximately 6 million years later.〔 Fossilized footprints found in New Brunswick have been attributed to ''Hylonomus'', at an estimated age of 315 million years.〔Falcon-Lang, H.J., Benton, M.J. & Stimson, M. (2007): Ecology of early reptiles inferred from Lower Pennsylvanian trackways. ''Journal of the Geological Society'', London, 164; no. 6; pp 1113-1118. (article )〕 This animal was discovered by John William Dawson in the mid-19th century.〔J. W. Dawson. 1860. On a Terrestrial Mollusk, a Chilognathous Myriapod, and some New Species of Reptiles, from the Coal-Formation of Nova Scotia. ''Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London'' 16:268-277〕 The species' name was given it by Dawson's teacher, the geologist Sir Charles Lyell. While it has traditionally been included in the group Protothyrididae, later studies have shown that it is probably more closely related to diapsids. ''Hylonomus lyelli'' was named the Provincial Fossil of Nova Scotia in 2002. ==References== 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hylonomus」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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