Edaphosaurus boanerges (fossil reptile) (Nocona Formation, Lower Permian; Archer County, Texas, USA) 4

Edaphosaurus boanerges Romer & Price, 1940 - fossil reptile skeleton from the Permian of Texas, USA. (CM 9187, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA)
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From museum signage:

Sail-backed mammal relative
Edaphosaurus belongs to a large group known as synapsids, or early mammal-like reptiles. This lineage ultimately evolved into the mammals that first appeared millions of years later during the Age of Dinosaurs.

Members of the family to which Edaphosaurus belongs are easily recognized by their sails, formed of long spines with many small crossbars. Their function is not known, although some scientists think the sails may have helped the animals with camouflage or with regulation of their body temperature.

The name Edaphosaurus means "pavement lizard". This refers to the animal's teeth, which are so densely packed that they resemble a paved surface.

Approximate size
Height: 4 feet at the sail (1.5 meters)
Length: up to 10 feet (3.5 meters)
Weight: 500 pounds (230 kilograms)

Edaphosaurus lived early in the Permian Period of the Paleozoic Era, about 299-270 million years ago.

Among the first of its kind
Edaphosaurus was one of the earliest land-dwelling animals able to live on a diet of plants alone. This was a major step forward in the evolution of truly terrestrial animals and the development of modern land-based ecosystems.

Before the time of Edaphosaurus, animals could get energy from high-fiber plants only by eating insects that fed on those plants. With the evolution of Edaphosaurus and its relatives, animals could get energy directly from plants. More plant-eating species soon evolved, and the many plant eaters formed a large and dependable source of food for the smaller number of meat eaters.

By the time of the Mesozoic Era - the Age of Dinosaurs - this balance among plant eaters and meat eaters had formed the basis for today's land-based ecosystems. Just think of the African plains, where herds of plant eaters such as zebras and wildebeests are preyed upon by small groups of meat eaters such as lions.
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Stratigraphy: Animalia, Chordata, Vertebrata, Pelycosauria, Edaphosauridae

Locality: upper Nocona Formation (a.k.a. upper Archer City Formation), upper Wolfcampian Series, Lower Permian

Locality: Geraldine Bone Bed, northwest of Archer City & northeast of Lake Kickapoo, north-central Archer County northern Texas, USA
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See info. at:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edaphosaurus
and
Sander (1987) - Taphonomy of the Lower Permian Geraldine Bonebed in Archer County, Texas. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 61: 221-236. (www.researchgate.net/profile/Paul_Sander2/publication/223...)

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Taken on: July 12, 2017

Tags:

Edaphosaurus

boanerges

fossil

reptile

reptiles

pelycosaur

pelycosaurs

Nocona

Formation

Archer

City

Permian

County

Texas

Geraldine

Bone

Bed

Bonebed

Wolfcampian « less

Sets appears in: • Texas Rocks & Fossils • Reptile Fossils

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