What is Westlothiana?
{{Taxobox |colour = lightblue |name = ''Westlothiana'' |fossil_range = early [[Carboniferous]] |image = Westlothiana_BW.jpg |image_width = 250px |image_caption = ''Westlothiana lizziae'' |regnum = [[Animal]]ia |phylum = [[Chordata]] |subphyllum = [[Vertebrata]] |classis = [[Amphibia]]/[[Amniote]] |genus = '''''Westlothiana''''' |species = '''''W. lizziae''''' |binomial = ''Westlothiana lizziae'' |binomial_authority = Smithson and Rolfe, 1990 }} '''''Westlothiana lizziae''''' is an early [[tetrapod]]. It is a [[transitional fossil]], with a mixture of [[amphibian]] and early [[amniote]] characters.<ref name=Ruta/><sup>282</sup> Its body shape had a superficial resemblance to modern-day [[lizard]]s. It lived during the [[Carboniferous]] period, about 350 million years ago. The [[type specimen]] was discovered in [[East Kirkton Quarry]], [[Bathgate]], [[Scotland]], in 1984. It was named after the County of [[West Lothian]] where it was found.<ref name=Smithson>Smithson T.R. & Rolfe W.D.I. 1990. ''Westlothiana'' gen. nov.: naming the earliest known reptile. ''Scottish Journal of Geology'' '''26''', 137–138.</ref> == ''Westlothiania'' in life == This species probably lived near a [[freshwater]] [[lake]], probably hunting for other small creatures that lived in the same [[habitat]]. It was a slender animal, with rather small legs and a long tail. Together with ''[[Casineria]]'', another [[transitional fossil]] found in [[Scotland]], it is one of the smallest terapods known, being a mere 20 cm in adult length. The small size has made it a key fossil in the search for the earliest [[amniote]], as amniote eggs are thought to have evolved in very small animals.<ref>Carroll R.L. 1991. The origin of reptiles. In: Schultze H.-P. & Trueb L. (eds) ''Origins of the higher groups of tetrapods — controversy and consensus''. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. 331-353</ref><ref name=Laurin>Laurin M. 2004. The evolution of body size, Cope's Rule and the origin of Amniotes. ''Systematic Biology'' '''53''' (4): 594-622. doi: 10