Ariekanerpeton is an extinct genus of Seymouriamorpha

Seymouriamorpha

Seymouriamorpha were a small but widespread group of reptiliomorphs. Many seymouriamorphs were terrestrial or semi-aquatic. However, aquatic larvae bearing external gills and grooves from the lateral line system has been found, making them unquestionably amphibians. The adults were terrestrial...

 from the lower Permian

Permian

The PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian...

. Fossil

Fossil

Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...

s have been found from Tadzhikistan representing over 900 individuals of various stages of ontogenic development. However, it is thought that none of these specimens are of fully mature animals as poor bone ossification is present and the neural arches are paired and disarticulated from the pleurocentra.

Ariekanerpeton is thought to have been more closely related to Discosauriscus

Discosauriscus

Discosauriscus was a small reptiliomorph that lived in Central and Western Europe in the Lower Permian Period. Its best fossils have been found in Boskovice Furrow, in the Czech Republic.-Classification:thumb|180px|left|Discosauriscus...

and Seymouria

Seymouria

Seymouria was a reptile-like labyrinthodont from the early Permian of North America and Europe . It was small, only 2 ft long...

than to Utegenia

Utegenia

Utegenia is a genus of early tetrapod. It is usually regarded as a basal seymouriamorph, but sometimes included in the Discosauriscidae or as a sister taxon of the latter. Only one species, Utegenia shpinari, found from Kazakhstan, is known. Urumqia, another basal seymouriamorph, from Urumqi,...

due to the absence of gastralia or a postorbital

Postorbital

The postorbital is one of the bones in vertebrate skulls which forms a portion of the dermal skull roof and, sometimes, a ring about the orbit. Generally, it is located behind the postfrontal and posteriorly to the orbital fenestra. In some vertebrates, the postorbital is fused with the postfrontal...

-supratemporal contact. However, it is not a member of the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Discosauriscidae

Discosauriscidae

Discosauriscidae is a family of reptiliomorphs of the early Permian group Seymouriamorpha....

 or the family Seymouriidae. There are no dermal scales present on post-metamorphic specimens as there are on Discosauriscus. Lateral line

Lateral line

The lateral line is a sense organ in aquatic organisms , used to detect movement and vibration in the surrounding water. Lateral lines are usually visible as faint lines running lengthwise down each side, from the vicinity of the gill covers to the base of the tail...

s are present in the skulls of larval individuals but are lost soon after metamorphosis. Unlike Utegenia and Discosauriscus, Ariekanerpeton is thought to have inhabited relatively arid environments.