''Dasyceps'' is an extinct genus of zatracheidid

temnospondyl Temnospondyli (from Greek language, Greek τέμνειν, ''temnein'' 'to cut' and σπόνδυλος, ''spondylos'' 'vertebra') is a diverse order (biology), order of small to giant tetrapods—often considered Labyrinthodontia, primitive amphi ...

from the early

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Paleoz ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

History of study

''Dasyceps'' was originally named in 1850 for the type species, ''D. bucklandi'', which honors English paleontologist

William Buckland William Buckland Doctor of Divinity, DD, Royal Society, FRS (12 March 1784 – 14 August 1856) was an English theologian who became Dean of Westminster. He was also a geologist and paleontology, palaeontologist. Buckland wrote the first full ...

, but under the now defunct genus "''Labyrinthodon''," which is now regarded as a junior synonym of the Triassic capitosaur ''

Mastodonsaurus ''Mastodonsaurus'' (meaning "teat tooth lizard") is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibian from the Middle Triassic of Europe. It belongs to a Triassic group of temnospondyls called Capitosauria, characterized by their large body size and pre ...

''. The new genus name for the species was created by Thomas Huxley in 1859. A detailed description of the taxon was given in German by the German paleontologist

Friedrich von Huene Friedrich von Huene, born Friedrich Richard von Hoinigen, (March 22, 1875 – April 4, 1969) was a German paleontologist who renamed more dinosaurs in the early 20th century than anyone else in Europe. He also made key contributions about v ...

in 1910. The most recent description is that of Paton (1975). A second species from Texas, ''D. microphthalmus'', was originally named as a species of ''Zatrachys'' but was moved to ''Dasyceps'' by Paton (1975).

Anatomy

''Dasyceps'' is the largest of the three zatracheidid genera, with a skull length approaching 30 cm. It is diagnosed by the following features: (1) proportionately long, U-shaped skull and elongate premaxillae; (2) relatively posteriorly situated nares; (3) dorsal exposure of septomaxilla replaced by nasal and maxilla, which contact posterior to the naris, excluding the lacrimal; (4) quadratojugal expanded but without spikes; (5) tabular posteriorly expanded; (6) long suture between squamosal and tabular. Compared to other zatracheidids, the internarial fontanelle of ''D. bucklandi'' forms a nearly perfect teardrop-shaped opening that divides the nasals more than in ''Acanthostomatops'' but that does not divide the frontals as is found in ''Zatrachys''. ''Dasyceps bucklandi'' is only known from a holotype skull split into a part and counterpart block. ''Dasyceps microphthalmus'' is known from the holotype and two referred specimens.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3755171 Permian temnospondyls of Europe Taxa named by Thomas Henry Huxley Fossil taxa described in 1859 Prehistoric amphibian genera Zatracheidae