Seymouria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article or section may be confusing or unclear for some readers. Please improve the article or discuss this issue on the talk page. This article has been tagged since December 2006. |
| iSeymouria |
||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
Extinct (fossil)
|
||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
Seymouria was a reptile-like tetrapod from the early Permian of Texas. It was small, only 2 ft (60 cm) long. Seymouria was well adapted to life on land, with many reptilian features--so many, in fact, that it was first thought to be a primitive reptile. The dry climate of the Permian suited reptiles better than amphibians, but Seymouria had many reptilian features that helped it in this environment. It had long and muscular legs, and may have had dry skin and an ability to conserve water. It may have been able to excrete excess salt from its blood through a gland in its nose, like modern reptiles. All of this meant that Seymoria, unlike amphibians and other early tetrapods, might have lived for extended periods of time away from water. If so, this would have allowed it to move about the landscape in search of insects, small amphibians, and other possible prey items, such as the eggs of reptiles. Male Seymouria had thick skulls that may have been used to batter rivals in mating contests. After mating, the females would have had to return to water to lay their eggs. As in amphibians, the larvae would develop in water, hunting for worms and insects until they were strong enough to live on land. While no larvae are known from Seymouria itself, fossil larvae of other species in the order Seymouriamorpha have been found, with impressions of external gill structures as in some amphibians. Fossils of Seymouria were first found in Seymour, Baylor County, Texas (hence the name of the type species, Seymouria baylorensis, or "Baylor County Seymour one"). Over the years, many well preserved fossils have been found in North America and Germany, including the "Tambach Lovers", two individuals of S. sanjuanensis fossilized lying next to each other (though of course it cannot be determined whether they really ware a couple killed during mating).
[edit] In popular culture
Seymouria was featured in the television show Walking with Monsters, produced by BBC. A Seymouria was spying on a Dimetrodon nest with a mother, the main character in the early Permian scene. It wanted to devour her eggs, but was eventually preyed upon by another Dimetrodon. It was erroneously called an amphibian.
