Eryops

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Eryops
Temporal range:
Ma
Skeleton of Eryops megacephalus at the American Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Order: †Temnospondyli
Family: †Eryopidae
Genus: †Eryops
Cope, 1877
Species:
†E. megacephalus
Binomial name
†Eryops megacephalus
Cope, 1877

Eryops (

teeth
are its most common fossils.

Description

Life restoration

Eryops averaged a little over 1.5–2.0 m (4 ft 11 in – 6 ft 7 in) long and could grow up to 3 m (9 ft 10 in),

labyrinthodont" ("maze toothed"). The shape and cross section of Eryops teeth made them exceptionally strong and resistant to stresses.[3] The palate, or roof of the mouth, contained three pairs of backward-curved fangs, and was covered in backward-pointing bony projections which would have been used to trap slippery prey once caught. This, coupled with the wide gape, suggest an inertial method of feeding, in which the animal would grasp its prey and thrust forward, forcing the prey farther back into its mouth.[3]

Eryops was much more strongly built and sturdy than its relatives, and had the most massive and heavily ossified skeleton of all known temnospondyls.

glenoid cavity situated below performing as the articulation surface for the humerus, while ventrally there was a large flat coracoid plate turning in toward the midline.[5]

The pelvic girdle also was much larger than the simple plate found in fishes, accommodating more muscles. It extended far dorsally and was joined to the backbone by one or more specialized sacral ribs. The hind legs were somewhat specialized in that they not only supported weight, but also provided propulsion. The dorsal extension of the pelvis was the ilium, while the broad ventral plate was composed of the pubis in front and the ischium behind. The three bones met at a single point in the center of the pelvic triangle, called the acetabulum, providing a surface of articulation for the femur.[5]

The texture of Eryops skin was revealed by a fossilized "mummy" described in 1941. This mummy specimen showed that the body in life was covered in a pattern of oval bumps.[6]

Discovery and species

Cast of the skull

Eryops is currently thought to contain only one species, E. megacephalus, which means "large-headed Eryops". E. megacephalus fossils have been found only in rocks dated to the early

Glaukerpeton. Beginning in the late 1950s, some scientists concluded that Glaukerpeton was too similar to Eyrops to deserve its own genus. However, later studies supported the original classification of Glaukerpeton, finding that it was more primitive than Eryops and some other early temnospondyls.[8] Supposed Eryops fossils also found in older Pennsylvanian epoch rocks of the Conemaugh Group in West Virginia[9] also turned out to be remains of Glaukerpeton.[8] In 2005, a skull clearly belonging to Eryops was found in upper Pennsylvanian epoch rocks of the El Cobre Canyon Formation in New Mexico, representing the oldest known specimen.[10]

Paleobiology

Eryops were among the most formidable early Permian carnivores and perhaps the only ones capable of competing with the dominant

synapsids of the time, though because they were semi-aquatic, if not mostly aquatic, as suggested by long bone microanatomy,[11] they probably did not come into frequent competition with synapsids.[12] Eryops lived in lowland habitats in and around ponds, streams, and rivers, and the arrangement and shape of their teeth suggests that they probably ate mostly large fish and aquatic tetrapods.[1] The torso of Eryops was relatively stiff and the tail stout, which would have made them poor swimmers. While they probably fed on fish, adult Eryops must have spent most of their time on land.[1]

Like other large primitive temnospondyls, Eryops would have grown slowly and gradually from aquatic larvae, but they did not go through a major metamorphosis like many modern amphibians. While adults probably lived in ponds and rivers, perhaps venturing onto their banks, juvenile Eryops may have lived in swamps, which possibly offered more shelter from predators.[1]

References

  1. ^
    doi:10.1146/annurev.earth.031208.100113
    .
  2. doi:10.1111/pala.12629
    .
  3. ^ a b Rinehart, L. F.; Lucas, S. G. (2013). "Tooth form and function in temnospondyl amphibians: relationship of shape to applied stress" (PDF). New Mexico Museum of Natural History Bulletin. 61: 533–542.
  4. ^ Amphibian Evolution: The Life of Early Land Vertebrates
  5. ^
    S2CID 56320401
    .
  6. doi:10.2475/ajs.239.11.822
    .
  7. ^ Gould, Stephen Jay, ed. The Book Of Life: An Illustrated History of the Evolution of Life on Earth. W.W. Norton: 2001, pg. 94. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  8. ^
    S2CID 83566130
    .
  9. ^ Murphy, James L. (1971). "Eryopsid Remains from the Conemaugh Group, Braxton County, West Virginia". Southeastern Geology. 13 (4): 265–273.
  10. ^ Werneburg, R.; S.G. Lucas; J.W. Schneider; L.F. Rinehart (2010). "First Pennsylvanian Eryops (Temnospondyli) and its Permian record from New Mexico". In Lucas, S.G.; J.W. Schneider; J.A. Spielmann (eds.). Carboniferous-Permian transition in Canõn del Cobre, northern New Mexico. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. Vol. 49. pp. 129–135.
  11. doi:10.1111/bij.12066
    .
  12. doi:10.1017/S1089332600001121
    .
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