|
Sphenacodontid
Sphenacodontidae (Greek: "wedge point tooth family") is an extinct family of small to large, advanced, carnivorous, Late Pennsylvanian to middle Permian pelycosaurs. The most recent one, ''Dimetrodon angelensis'', is from the late Kungurian or early Roadian San Angelo Formation. However, given the notorious incompleteness of the fossil record, a recent study concluded that the Sphenacodontidae may have become extinct as recently as the early Capitanian. Primitive forms were generally small (60 cm to 1 meter), but during the later part of the early Permian these animals grew progressively larger (up to 3 meters or more), to become the top predators of their environments. Sphenacodontid fossils are so far known only from North America and Europe. Characteristics The skull is long, deep and narrow, an adaptation for strong jaw muscles. The front teeth are large and dagger-like, whereas the teeth in the sides and rear of the jaw are much smaller (hence the name of the well-kno ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dimetrodon Limbatus
''Dimetrodon'' ( or ,) meaning "two measures of teeth,” is an extinct genus of non-mammalian synapsid that lived during the Cisuralian (Early Permian), around 295–272 million years ago (Mya). It is a member of the family Sphenacodontidae. The most prominent feature of ''Dimetrodon'' is the large neural spine sail on its back formed by elongated spines extending from the vertebrae. It walked on four legs and had a tall, curved skull with large teeth of different sizes set along the jaws. Most fossils have been found in the Southwestern United States, the majority coming from a geological deposit called the Red Beds of Texas and Oklahoma. More recently, its fossils have been found in Germany. Over a dozen species have been named since the genus was first erected in 1878. ''Dimetrodon'' is often mistaken for a dinosaur or as a contemporary of dinosaurs in popular culture, but it became extinct some 40 million years before the first appearance of dinosaurs. Reptile-li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dimetrodon
''Dimetrodon'' ( or ,) meaning "two measures of teeth,” is an extinct genus of non-mammalian synapsid that lived during the Cisuralian (Early Permian), around 295–272 million years ago (Mya). It is a member of the family Sphenacodontidae. The most prominent feature of ''Dimetrodon'' is the large neural spine sail on its back formed by elongated spines extending from the vertebrae. It walked on four legs and had a tall, curved skull with large teeth of different sizes set along the jaws. Most fossils have been found in the Southwestern United States, the majority coming from a geological deposit called the Red Beds of Texas and Oklahoma. More recently, its fossils have been found in Germany. Over a dozen species have been named since the genus was first erected in 1878. ''Dimetrodon'' is often mistaken for a dinosaur or as a contemporary of dinosaurs in popular culture, but it became extinct some 40 million years before the first appearance of dinosaurs. Reptile-li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Secodontosaurus
''Secodontosaurus'' (meaning "cutting-tooth lizard") is an extinct genus of "pelycosaur" synapsids that lived from between about 285 to 272 million years ago during the Early Permian. Like the well known ''Dimetrodon'', ''Secodontosaurus'' is a carnivorous member of the Eupelycosauria family Sphenacodontidae and has a similar tall dorsal sail. However, its skull is long, low, and narrow, with slender jaws that have teeth that are very similar in size and shape—unlike the shorter, deep skull of ''Dimetrodon'' ("two-measure tooth"), which has large, prominent canine-like teeth in front and smaller slicing teeth further back in its jaws. Its unusual long, narrow jaws suggest that ''Secodontosaurus'' may have been specialized for catching fish or for hunting prey that lived or hid in burrows or crevices. Although no complete skeletons are currently known, ''Secodontosaurus'' likely ranged from about in length, weighing up to . Fossils of ''Secodontosaurus'' have been found in Texa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sphenacodon2
''Sphenacodon'' (meaning "wedge point tooth") is an extinct genus of synapsid that lived from about 300 to about 280 million years ago (Ma) during the Late Carboniferous and Early Permian periods. Like the closely related ''Dimetrodon'', ''Sphenacodon'' was a carnivorous member of the Eupelycosauria family Sphenacodontidae. However, ''Sphenacodon'' had a low crest along its back, formed from blade-like bones on its vertebrae (neural spines) instead of the tall dorsal sail found in ''Dimetrodon''. Fossils of ''Sphenacodon'' are known from New Mexico and the Utah–Arizona border region in North America. Researchers currently recognize two species: ''Sphenacodon ferox'' (the type species) and ''Sphenacodon ferocior''. ''Sphenacodon ferocior'' can be up to 40% larger in overall size (at about long) compared to ''Sphenacodon ferox'' (at about ). In addition, the dorsal spines in ''Sphenacodon ferocior'' are proportionately 45% taller than in ''Sphenacodon ferox''. The recent discover ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sphenacodon
''Sphenacodon'' (meaning "wedge point tooth") is an extinct genus of synapsid that lived from about 300 to about 280 million years ago (Ma) during the Late Carboniferous and Early Permian periods. Like the closely related '' Dimetrodon'', ''Sphenacodon'' was a carnivorous member of the Eupelycosauria family Sphenacodontidae. However, ''Sphenacodon'' had a low crest along its back, formed from blade-like bones on its vertebrae (neural spines) instead of the tall dorsal sail found in ''Dimetrodon''. Fossils of ''Sphenacodon'' are known from New Mexico and the Utah–Arizona border region in North America. Researchers currently recognize two species: ''Sphenacodon ferox'' (the type species) and ''Sphenacodon ferocior''. ''Sphenacodon ferocior'' can be up to 40% larger in overall size (at about long) compared to ''Sphenacodon ferox'' (at about ). In addition, the dorsal spines in ''Sphenacodon ferocior'' are proportionately 45% taller than in ''Sphenacodon ferox''. The recent discov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cutleria (synapsid)
''Cutleria'' is an extinct genus of basal sphenacodontids or derived stem- sphenacodontoid known from the Early Permian period (Sakmarian stage) of the Colorado, United States. It contains a single species, ''Cutleria wilmarthi''. Discovery ''Cutleria'' is known only from the holotype specimen USNM 22099, a fractured but three-dimensionally preserved, a nearly complete skull and articulated partial postcranial skeleton (including vertebral column, ribs and several girdle and limb elements). It was collected at locality 3, near Placerville of San Miguel County, Colorado, from the Cutler Formation, dating to the Sakmarian stage of the Cisuralian series. MCZ 2987, a tip of the rostrum and some teeth collected 2.5 km from the type locality (from localities 11-13), was originally referred to ''C. wilmarthi'' by Lewis and Vaughn (1965). A redescription of sphenacodonts by Michel Laurin (1993 and 1994), revealed that it can't be assigned to any named sphenacodont genus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
San Angelo Formation
The San Angelo Formation is a geologic formation in Texas. It preserves fossils dating back to the Permian period. It is one of the geologically youngest formations to preserve fossils of pelycosaurs. Stratigraphy and age The San Angelo Formation belongs to the Kungurian stage of the Cisuralian series. It underlies the Blaine Formation, which is either upper Kungurian or lower Guadalupian. Fossil content Everett C. Olson regarded the San Angelo Formation as preserving some of the oldest known therapsids, several of which he classified in a taxon he called Eotheriodonta. These taxa are now interpreted as caseids and sphenacodontids, not therapsids. Synapsids See also * List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Texas * Paleontology in Texas Paleontology in Texas refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Texas. Author Marian Murray has remarked that "Texas is as big for fossils as it is for everything else." Some of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ctenospondylus
''Ctenospondylus'' ("comb vertebra") is an extinct genus of sphenacodontid synapsid Species were about three meters (ten feet) long. The genus is known only from the 'Seymouran' Land Vertebrate Faunachron, which is equivalent to the upper part of the Artinskian stage and the lowermost Kungurian stage of the Early Permian. Its fossils were found in the U.S. states of Ohio and Texas. It was a carnivore and preyed upon animals close to its size. ''Ctenospondylus'' had a long tail, short back spines, and a very deep yet narrow skull with massive jaws that had sharp teeth. Because of its large size, it was probably the apex predator in its environment, and might have competed with other predators like ''Dimetrodon'' for food. A sphenacodontid, it was a close relative of ''Dimetrodon''. In 1936, Alfred Sherwood Romer named the type species ''Ctenospondylus casei''. The generic name, from Greek κτείς, ''kteis'', "comb", and σφόνδυλος, ''sphondylos'', "vertebra", refe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pelycosaur
Pelycosaur ( ) is an older term for basal or primitive Late Paleozoic synapsids, excluding the therapsids and their descendants. Previously, the term ''mammal-like reptile'' had been used, and pelycosaur was considered an order, but this is now thought to be incorrect, and seen as outdated. Because it excludes the advanced synapsid group Therapsida, the term is paraphyletic and contrary to modern formal naming practice. Thus the name ''pelycosaurs'', similar to the term ''mammal-like reptiles'', had fallen out of favor among scientists by the 21st century, and is only used informally, if at all, in the modern scientific literature. The terms stem mammals, protomammals, and basal or primitive synapsids are used where needed, instead. Etymology The term ''pelycosaur'' has been fairly well abandoned by paleontologists because it no longer matches the features that distinguish a clade. The modern word was created from Greek meaning 'wooden bowl' or 'axe' and meaning 'lizar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cryptovenator
''Cryptovenator'' (''Crypto'', from Greek kryptos (hidden, secret); ''venator'', from Latin (hunter)) is an extinct genus of sphenacodontid pelycosaurs which existed in Germany during the latest Carboniferous (late Gzhelian age, 300 Ma ± 2.4 Ma). It is known from the holotype LFN−PW 2008/5599−LS, an anterior right mandible fragment, recovered from a dark, fine grained sandstone of the middle Remigiusberg Formation. It was first named by Jörg Fröbisch, Rainer R. Schoch, Johannes Müller, Thomas Schindler and Dieter Schweiss in 2011 and the type species is ''Cryptovenator hirschbergeri''. Phylogeny Cladogram after Fröbisch ''et al.'', 2011: See also * List of pelycosaurs This list of pelycosaurs is an attempt to create a comprehensive listing of all genera that have ever been included in the synapsida excluding therapsida and purely vernacular terms. The list includes all commonly accepted genera, but also genera t ... References Sphenacodontidae Carboni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ctenorhachis
''Ctenorhachis'' (Greek for "comb spine") is an extinct genus of the family Sphenacodontidae. ''Ctenorhachis'' was related to ''Dimetrodon'', but did not belong to the same subfamily as ''Dimetrodon'' and ''Sphenacodon'', being a more basal member of Sphenacodontidae. ''Ctenorhachis'' lived in the Early Permian epoch. Two specimens are known that have been found from the Wichita Group outcropping in Baylor and Archer counties, north-central Texas. Only the vertebrae and pelvis are known. Articulated vertebrae from the holotype specimen possess blade like neural spines that are greatly enlarged, although not nearly to the extent that can be seen in more derived sphenacodontids such as ''Dimetrodon'' and ''Secodontosaurus'', in which they form a large sail. The pelvis is nearly identical to that of ''Dimetrodon''. As suggested in the original description of the genus, ''Ctenorhachis'' may represent a short-spined sexual dimorph, although the authors find this unlikely.Hook, R. W. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neosaurus
''Neosaurus'' is an extinct genus of pelycosaur-grade synapsids from the Late Carboniferous- Early Permian of the Jura region of France. It is known only from a partial maxilla or upper jaw bone and an associated impression of the bone. The teardrop shape of the teeth in the jaw indicate that ''Neosaurus'' belongs to the family Sphenacodontidae, which includes the better-known '' Dimetrodon'' from the Southwestern United States. The maxilla was first attributed to an early diapsid reptile in 1857, and later a crocodylomorph in 1869, before finally being identified as a sphenacodont synapsid in 1899, a classification that still holds today. A species of the hadrosaur dinosaur ''Hypsibema'', '' H. missouriensis'', is also called '' Neosaurus'', although because the name was already in use, that species was renamed ''Parrosaurus ''Hypsibema missouriensis'' (; originally ''Neosaurus missouriensis'', first renamed to ''Parrosaurus missouriensis'', also spelled ''Hypsibema missour ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
