Rhode Island is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It’s famous for its colonial seaside towns and sandy shores.
However, regarding prehistoric animals, the state has a relatively sparse fossil record. During the early Paleozoic, Rhode Island was partially covered by a sea home to trilobites.
Trilobites were among the marine arthropods that date back to the Early Cambrian period until their final disappearance in the mass extinction at the end of the Permian. They are among the most successful aquatic animals, with over 20,000 species.
Protophasma is an extinct species of the genus Protorthopteran insect that lived during the Carboniferous period. It was among the earliest known winged insects in the fossil record.
Adelospondylus is an extinct lepospondyli amphibian from the Early Carboniferous to the Early Permian. Aside from Adelospondylus, there were also four major Lepospondyli groups: Nectridea, Lysorophia, Aistopoda, and Microsauria.
There is a possibility that modern lissamphibians may have originated from the Late Carboniferous Amphibamus, though not all researchers support this theory. Amphibamus could grow up to 0.65 feet (20 cm) in total length.