Edaphosaurus

E687930

Edaphosaurus was a large, sail-backed, herbivorous synapsid from the Late Carboniferous to Early Permian period, notable for its distinctive spiny neural sail and importance in early amniote evolution.

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Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf extinct genus of synapsids
herbivorous synapsid
pelycosaur-grade synapsid
clade Synapsida NERFINISHED
diet herbivorous
discoveredIn 19th century
ecologicalRole large terrestrial herbivore
environment coal swamp margins
lowland floodplains
estimatedLength approximately 3 to 3.5 meters
estimatedMass approximately 100 to 300 kilograms
extinctionStatus extinct
family Edaphosauridae NERFINISHED
fossilDistribution Europe NERFINISHED
North America NERFINISHED
geologicalFormation European Permian deposits
Ohio coal measures
Texas red beds NERFINISHED
jawAdaptation adapted for processing fibrous plants
kingdom Animalia
livedDuring Cisuralian epoch NERFINISHED
Pennsylvanian subperiod NERFINISHED
locomotion quadrupedal
namedBy Edward Drinker Cope NERFINISHED
notableFeature barrel-shaped body
crossbars on neural spines
elongate neural spines
robust limbs
short, deep skull
tall dorsal sail
order Pelycosauria NERFINISHED
phylum Chordata
relatedTo Dimetrodon NERFINISHED
reproduction amniote egg-laying
sailFunctionHypothesis display
species recognition
thermoregulation
sailStructure neural spines with lateral tubercles
sharesFeatureWith sail-backed synapsids
significance important for understanding early amniote evolution
one of the earliest large terrestrial herbivores
taxonRank genus
temporalRange Early Permian NERFINISHED
Late Carboniferous
toothMorphology peg-like teeth
tooth plates for grinding plant material
typeSpecies Edaphosaurus pogonias NERFINISHED
yearDescribed 1882

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Edward Drinker Cope describedTaxa Edaphosaurus