| Zatrachys Temporal range: Late Carboniferous to Early Permian, | |
|---|---|
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| Zatrachys serratus | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Order: | † Temnospondyli |
| Family: | † Zatracheidae |
| Genus: | † Zatrachys Cope, 1878 |
Zatrachys is an extinct genus of large and flat-headed zatracheid temnospondyl from the early Permian of North America.
Zatrachys was named by American paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope in 1878 for the type species, Z. serratus, based on a partial skull from the early Permian of Texas. [1] Additional material has been reported from the early Permian of New Mexico [2] [3] and Oklahoma. [4] Urban et al. (2007) reported material attributed to Z. serratus from the late Carboniferous and the early Permian of West Virginia. [5] [6] This is the only record of Zatrachys in the Carboniferous.
Zatrachys microphthalmus [7] is now placed within Dasyceps .
Like all zatracheids, Zatrachys is easily recognized by the presence of a large opening in the snout, the internarial fontanelle or fenestra. Of the three genera of zatracheids, that of Zatrachys is the largest, extending as far back as to fully divide the nasals and to partially divide the frontals, a unique feature (autapomorphy). Other features that distinguish this genus are the presence of prominent spiky projections from the posterior skull (maxilla and quadratojugal), bosses and ridges on the lower jaw, a supratemporal that borders the otic notch, long and slender tabular horns and short postparietal horns, contact between the palatine and the vomer to fully enclose the choana on the palate, and a U-shaped skull profile intermediate to that of Acanthostomatops (broad and parabolic) and Dasyceps (elongate).
Although there are numerous reports of postcranial material attributed to Zatrachys, all of this was referred to species that are now reassigned to other temnospondyl taxa (e.g., "Zatrachys crucifer") [8] or material of other taxa that was mistakenly attributed to cranial material of Z. serratus due to close proximity during preservation (e.g., Platyhystrix ). This often led to hypothesized close relationships with Platyhystrix in particular.
Dimetrodon is an extinct genus of non-mammalian synapsid belonging to the family Sphenacodontidae that lived during the Cisuralian age of the Early Permian period, around 295–272 million years ago. With most species measuring 1.7–4.6 m (5.6–15.1 ft) long and weighing 28–250 kg (62–551 lb), the most prominent feature of Dimetrodon is the large neural spine sail on its back formed by elongated spines extending from the vertebrae. It was an obligate quadruped 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 of these coming from a geological deposit called the Red Beds of Texas and Oklahoma. More recently, its fossils have also been found in Germany and over a dozen species have been named since the genus was first erected in 1878.
"Labyrinthodontia" is an informal grouping of extinct predatory amphibians which were major components of ecosystems in the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras. Traditionally considered a subclass of the class Amphibia, modern classification systems recognize that labyrinthodonts are not a formal natural group (clade) exclusive of other tetrapods. Instead, they consistute an evolutionary grade, ancestral to living tetrapods such as lissamphibians and amniotes. "Labyrinthodont"-grade vertebrates evolved from lobe-finned fishes in the Devonian, though a formal boundary between fish and amphibian is difficult to define at this point in time.
Diadectidae is an extinct family of early tetrapods that lived in what is now North America and Europe during the Late Carboniferous and Early Permian, and in Asia during the Late Permian. They were the first herbivorous tetrapods, and also the first fully terrestrial animals to attain large sizes. Footprints indicate that diadectids walked with an erect posture. They were the first to exploit plant material in terrestrial food chains, making their appearance an important stage in both vertebrate evolution and the development of terrestrial ecosystems.
Cacops, is a genus of dissorophid temnospondyls from the Kungurian stage of the early Permian of the United States. Cacops is one of the few olsoniforms whose ontogeny is known. Cacops fossils were almost exclusively known from the Cacops Bone Bed of the Lower Permian Arroyo Formation of Texas for much of the 20th century. New material collected from the Dolese Brothers Quarry, near Richards Spur, Oklahoma in the past few decades has been recovered, painting a clearer picture of what the animal looked and acted like.
Dissorophidae is an extinct family of medium-sized temnospondyls that flourished during the late Carboniferous and early Permian periods. The clade is known almost exclusively from North America.
Temnospondyli or temnospondyls is a diverse ancient order of small to giant tetrapods—often considered primitive amphibians—that flourished worldwide during the Carboniferous, Permian and Triassic periods, with fossils being found on every continent. A few species continued into the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous periods, but all had gone extinct by the Late Cretaceous. During about 210 million years of evolutionary history, they adapted to a wide range of habitats, including freshwater, terrestrial, and even coastal marine environments. Their life history is well understood, with fossils known from the larval stage, metamorphosis and maturity. Most temnospondyls were semiaquatic, although some were almost fully terrestrial, returning to the water only to breed. These temnospondyls were some of the first vertebrates fully adapted to life on land. Although temnospondyls are amphibians, many had characteristics such as scales and armour-like bony plates that distinguish them from the modern soft-bodied lissamphibians.
Zatracheidae is a family of Late Carboniferous and Early Permian temnospondyls known from North America and Europe. Zatracheidids are distinguished by lateral (sideways) bony protuberances of the quadratojugal bone of the skull, and a large opening in the snout called the internarial fontanelle that is bordered by enlarged premaxillae. The skull is flattened, with small orbits or eye sockets set far back. The opening in the snout may have housed a gland for producing a sticky substance so that prey would adhere to the tongue. If so, this indicates that these animals spent a large part of their time on land.
Platyhystrix is an extinct temnospondyl amphibian with a distinctive sail along its back, similar to the unrelated synapsids, Dimetrodon and Edaphosaurus. It lived during the boundary between the latest Carboniferous and earliest Permian periods throughout what is now known as the Four Corners, Texas, and Kansas about 300 million years ago.
Edops is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibian from the Late Carboniferous - Early Permian periods. Unlike more advanced temnospondyls of the time, such as Eryops, Edops exhibited an archaic pattern of palatal bones, and still possessed various additional bones at the back of the skull. Edopoids also had particularly big premaxillae and proportionally small external nostrils. Within the clade, the most basal member seems to be Edops from the Early Permian Archer City Formation of the US, a broad-skulled animal with large palatal teeth.
Cheliderpeton is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibian. It lived during the Early Permian in what is now Europe. Fossils have been found from the Ruprechtice horizon of the Intrasudetic Basin of Bohemia in the Czech Republic, as well as the Saar-Nahe Basin of southwestern Germany. Cheliderpeton had a 16 cm skull, and reached about 65 cm in length.
Dasyceps is an extinct genus of zatracheidid temnospondyl from the early Permian of England.
Trematopidae is a family of dissorophoid temnospondyls spanning the late Carboniferous to the early Permian. Together with Dissorophidae, the family forms Olsoniformes, a clade comprising the medium-large terrestrial dissorophoids. Trematopids are known from numerous localities in North America, primarily in New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, and from the Bromacker quarry in Germany.
Acroplous is an extinct genus of dvinosaurian Temnospondyli within the family Eobrachyopidae.
Pariotichus is an extinct genus of gymnarthrid microsaurs from the early Permian of Texas.
The Amphibamidae are an ancient family of dissorophoid temnospondyls known from Late Carboniferous-Early Permian strata in the United States.
Adamanterpeton is a genus of Edopoid Temnospondyl within the family Cochleosauridae. The type species A. ohioensis was named in 1998 and is currently the only known species within this genus. Adamanterpeton is rare in the Linton vertebrate assemblage, with other amphibians like Sauropleura, Ophiderpeton, and Colosteus being more common. Unlike other Linton vertebrates, Adamanterpeton may have been adapted to a terrestrial lifestyle.
Parioxys is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibian from the Early Permian of Texas.
Vigilius is an extinct genus of brachyopid temnospondyl amphibian from the Triassic of Arizona. It is known from the single type species Vigilius wellesi.
Amphibamiformes is an unranked clade with Dissorophoidea created by Schoch (2018). It encompasses all of the taxa traditionally considered to be "amphibamids", branchiosaurids, and hypothetically lissamphibians under the traditional temnospondyl hypothesis of lissamphibian origins. These taxa are typically small-bodied dissorophoids and form the sister group to Olsoniformes, which comprises dissorophids and trematopids.
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