Diadectes
| Diadectes | |
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| Mounted skeleton of D. sideropelicus, American Museum of Natural History | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Order: | †Diadectomorpha |
| Family: | †Diadectidae |
| Genus: | †Diadectes Cope, 1878 |
| Type species | |
| †Diadectes sideropelicus Cope, 1878
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| Species | |
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| Synonyms | |
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Diadectes (meaning crosswise-biter) is an extinct
Description
Diadectes was a heavily built animal, up to 3 m (10 ft) long,[3][4] with a thick-boned skull, heavy vertebrae and ribs, massive limb girdles, and short, robust limbs. The nature of the limbs and vertebrae clearly indicates a terrestrial animal. The rib cage was assumed to be barrel-shaped, but new fossils show the ribs were actually sticking out to the sides.[5]
Paleobiology
It possesses some characteristics of reptilians and amphibians, combining a reptile-like skeleton with a more primitive, seymouriamorph-like skull. Diadectes has been classified as belonging to the sister group of the amniotes.
Among its primitive features, Diadectes has a large
These traits are likely adaptations related to the animals' high-fiber, herbivorous diet, and evolved independently of similar traits seen in some reptilian groups. Many of the reptile-like details of the postcranial skeleton are possibly related to carrying the substantial trunk; these may be independently derived traits on Diadectes and their relatives. Though very similar, they would be
Discovery
Diadectes was first named and described by American paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope in 1878,[9] based on part of a lower jaw (AMNH 4360) from the Permian of Texas. Cope noted: "Teeth with short and much compressed crowns, whose long axis is transverse to that of the jaws," the feature expressed in the generic name Diadectes "crosswise biter" (from Greek dia "crosswise" + Greek dēktēs "biter"). He described the animal as "in all probability, herbivorous." Cope's neo-Latin type species name sideropelicus (from Greek sidēros "iron" + Greek pēlos "clay" + -ikos) "of iron clay" alluded to the Wichita beds in Texas, where the fossil was found. Diadectes fossil remains are known from a number of locations across North America, especially the Texas Red Beds (Wichita and Clear Fork).
Classification and species
Numerous species have been assigned to Diadectes, though most of those have proven to be synonyms of one another. Similarly, many supposed separate genera of diadectids have been shown to be junior synonyms of Diadectes. One of these, Nothodon, was actually published by Othniel Charles Marsh five days before the name Diadectes was published by his rival Cope. Despite this fact, in 1912, Case synonymized the two names and treated Diadectes as the senior synonym, which has been followed by other paleontologists since, despite the fact that it violates the rules of International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN).[2]
Phylogeny
A phylogenetic analysis of Diadectes and related diadectids was presented in an unpublished PhD thesis by Richard Kissel in 2010. Previous phylogenetic analyses of diadectids had found D. sanmiguelensis and D. absitus to be more basal than other species of Diadectes, outside the derived
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However, according to the ICZN, a name presented in an initially unpublished thesis such as Kissel's is not valid. Because the names "Oradectes" and "Silvadectes" have not yet been formally erected in a published paper, they were not, as of 2010, considered valid.
References
- S2CID 210778158.
- ^ a b Kissel, R. (2010). "Morphology, Phylogeny, and Evolution of Diadectidae (Cotylosauria: Diadectomorpha)." Thesis (Graduate Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology University of Toronto).
- ISBN 9780123869203. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
- ISBN 9780195125689. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
- ^ Dig into new bones in Seymour - Newschannel 6 Now | Wichita Falls, TX
- ^ Carroll R.L. (1991): The origin of reptiles. In: Schultze H.-P., Trueb L., (ed) Origins of the higher groups of tetrapods — controversy and consensus. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, pp 331-353.
- ^ Mayr, Ernst, and Peter D. Ashlock (1991): Principles of systematic zoology. New York: McGraw-Hill
- ^ Cope, E.D. (1878). "Descriptions of extinct Batrachia and Reptilia from the Permian formation of Texas". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 17: 505–530.
- hdl:1807/24357.
- Parker, Steve. Dinosaurus: the complete guide to dinosaurs. Firefly Books Inc, 2003. Pg. 83
- Benton, M. J.(2000), Vertebrate Paleontology, 2nd ed. Blackwell Science Ltd
- Carroll, R. L. (1988), Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution, WH Freeman & Co.
- Colbert, E. H., (1969), Evolution of the Vertebrates, John Wiley & Sons Inc (2nd ed.)
- Reisz, Robert, (no date), Biology 356 - Major Features of Vertebrate Evolution - Anthracosaurs and Diadectomorphs
