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Paleozoic Amphibian Fossil Gallery

Animalia, Chordata,, Vertebrata, Amphibia

(Kingdom, Phylum, Subphylum, Class)

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Red text = needs information

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Lepospondyli, Microsauria, Gymnarthridae

(Subclass, Order, Family)

Cardiocephalus peabodyi - cast

cast of the type specimen

Common Name: Microsaur

Period: Lower Permian

Location: Dolese Quarry of Oklahoma

Collection: Jo Cox

Cast by: Bill May

Painted by: Jo Cox (fossil & matrix true colors are tan)

Size: 65 mm long block

Cardiocephalis.jpg (1586401 bytes)

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Nectridea, Keraterpetontidae

(Order, Family)

Diplocaulus magnicornis - cast

Period: Lower Permian

Location: Taylor Co. Texas

Collection: Texas Memorial Museum at Austin

Size: ? mm long

Description: adult skull

 

Diplocaulus magnicornis - cast

Period: Lower Permian

Location: Dolese Quarry of Oklahoma

Collection : Jo Cox

Cast by : Bill May

Painted by : Jo Cox

Size: 292 mm wide horns

X

Description: adult skull

 

Diplocaulus magnicornis

Period: Vale formation, Clear Fork group, lower Permian

Location: south of Abilene Texas

Date found: February, 1998

Nickname: The twins

Collection: Jo Cox & Judie Ostlien

Identified by : Bill May

Size: ? mm long

 

Description: Two baby skulls.  Somewhat crushed.  The texture, orbits (eye holes) and maxilla (upper jaw) are easily recognizable.

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Temnospondyls

The large group of animals classified under the order Temnospondyli were some of the first animals to hear high-frequency, air-borne sounds, and a wider range of sounds underwater.  They may have used their hearing in mating calls, like frogs.  At the end of the Permian, this large group of animals was reduced to 5 species.  All of which were aquatic.

Teeth

The obsolete group name for these animals was Labyrinthodont.  Labyrinth means maze and refers to the shape of these animals teeth.  In cross section a tooth looks like a maze.  This is because the dentine (the inner part of the tooth) and enamel (the hard coating) fold inward multiple times.

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Temnospondyli, Euskelia, Eryopidae

(Order, Suborder, Family)

Eryops megacephalus

(EAR-y-AHPS MEG-e-SEF-e-lus)

Period: Lower Permian

Location: Geraldine Bone Bed, Archer County Texas

Collection: Texas Memorial Museum at Austin

Mounted by: Robert Rainey

Size: 6 feet long, 280 pounds, skull 2 feet long

Click the picture for more photos!

Eryops means “drawn-out eye”.

This Genus was one of the few animals to exist for 20 million years without noticeable changes to its anatomy.

Eryops was a carnivorous amphibian and one of the largest terrestrial animals of the time. They had stout enough legs for some dry land travel, but with a weak vertebral column preferred to lurk in rivers.  As an adult, its only predators would be Dimetrodon on land and Orthacanthus (a fresh water shark) in the water.

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Temnospondyli, Trimerorhachidae

(Order, Family)

Trimerorhachis insignis - cast

Period: Lower Permian

Location: Dolese Quarry of Oklahoma

Collection : Jo Cox

Cast by : Bill May

Painted by : Jo Cox

Size: 107 mm long

Trimerorhachis - top.jpg (151734 bytes)   Trimerohachis - left.jpg (158653 bytes)

Description: The name comes from the three part vertebra of the animal.

 

Trimerorhachis sp.

Period: Pennsylvanian

Location: ?

Collection : Hardin-Simmons University

Identified by: Jo Cox & Bill May

Size: 23 mm tall

plant Slab A - Trimerorhachis left post orbital.jpg (263413 bytes)

Description: left post orbital bone, on HSU plant slab A, red/black shale curved edge (lower left corner in photo) is the edge of the orbit (eye hole)

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Amphibian Trackway

Trackway Drag

Period: Vale formation, Clear Fork group, lower Permian

Location: south of Merkel Texas

Collection: R. H. Tull

Collected by: R. H. Tull

Size: 222 mm wide x 231 mm tall slab

amphibian track.jpg (76374 bytes) 

Description: amphibian footprints, toe drags, and tail drag.  It is not possible to know what animal made these tracks but it is most likely some kind of small amphibian.

 

Clawed Footprint

Period: Vale formation, Clear Fork group, lower Permian

Location: south of Merkel Texas

Collection: R. H. Tull

Collected by: R. H. Tull

Size: 85 mm wide x 65 mm tall slab

10 mm wide footprint

 

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