Tetrapod bones from the Clare Shale Formation (Pennsylvanian, Bashkirian) of County Clare, Ireland

A recently discovered single limb bone and a possible ilium of a tetrapod from the Clare Shale Formation of County Clare (Pennsylvanian, Bashkirian; Chokerian-Kinderscoutian) is the oldest stratigraphically well-constrained tetrapod skeletal fossil material described from Ireland. The limb bone is considered to be part of the zeugopod as it lacks features characteristic of humeri, femora or autopod elements. The ilium has a unipartite dorsal process characteristic of colosteids, nectrideans, temnospondyls and the stem-tetrapod Aytonerpeton. The specimens extend the known geographical range of lower Pennsylvanian tetrapods. Although of limited taxonomic value, the bones form an important part in our understanding of tetrapod diversity and evolution during the transition from the Mississippian to the Pennsylvanian. The specimens are not typical representatives of the associated marine fauna and are considered to have been transported offshore from a terrestrial source.