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.

All labels observed (3)

Label Occurrences
Edaphosaurus canonical 2
Edaphosaurus pogonias 1
Pelycosaurs 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf extinct genus of synapsids
herbivorous synapsid
pelycosaur-grade synapsid
clade Synapsida
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
fossilDistribution Europe
North America
geologicalFormation European Permian deposits
Ohio coal measures
Texas red beds
jawAdaptation adapted for processing fibrous plants
kingdom Animalia
livedDuring Cisuralian epoch
linked to: Cisuralian Epoch

Pennsylvanian subperiod
locomotion quadrupedal
namedBy Edward Drinker Cope
notableFeature barrel-shaped body
crossbars on neural spines
elongate neural spines
robust limbs
short, deep skull
tall dorsal sail
order Pelycosauria
phylum Chordata
relatedTo Dimetrodon
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
Late Carboniferous
toothMorphology peg-like teeth
tooth plates for grinding plant material
typeSpecies Edaphosaurus pogonias
linked to: Edaphosaurus
yearDescribed 1882

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (4)

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

Edward Drinker Cope describedTaxa Edaphosaurus
Ermine Cowles Case researchInterest Pelycosaurs
linked to: Edaphosaurus
Synapsida hasMember Edaphosaurus
Edaphosaurus typeSpecies Edaphosaurus pogonias
linked to: Edaphosaurus