Cotylorhynchus
| Cotylorhynchus Temporal range: Kungurian, 279.5–272 Ma | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Mounted skeleton of C. romeri | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Synapsida |
| Clade: | †Caseasauria |
| Family: | †Caseidae |
| Genus: | †Cotylorhynchus Stovall, 1937 |
| Type species | |
| †Cotylorhynchus romeri Stovall, 1937 | |
| Species | |
| |
Cotylorhynchus was a very large synapsid that lived in the southern part of what is now North America during the Early Permian period.[1] It is the best known member of the synapsid clade Caseidae, the largest terrestrial vertebrates of the Early Permian.[2] They were herbivores, and because of their enormous size, probably had no predators.
Description
Size
Cotylorhynchus was a heavily built animal with a disproportionately small head and a huge barrel-shaped body, adults of the species C. romeri were about 3 m (9.8 ft)[3] while those of the younger C. hancocki were around 20-25% larger in linear measurements,[4] making it one of the largest synapsids of the early Permian.
Skull
Their skulls are distinctive in the presence of large temporal openings and very large nostril openings, which could have been utilized for better breathing or may have housed some sort of sensory or moisture conserving organ. Also they featured large pineal openings and a snout or upper jaw that overhangs the row of teeth to form a projecting rostrum. Rounded deep pits and possibly large depressions were present on the outer surface of the skull. Their teeth were very similar to those of iguanas with posterior marginal teeth that bore a longitudinal row of cusps.
Limbs
Their skeletal features included a massive scapulocoracoid, humeri with large flared ends, stout forearm bones and broad, robust hands that had large claws. Certain features of their hands indicate that they had to dig considerably to obtain their food supply and also they may have used these features to dig burrows for shelter or safety. Their digits were believed to have a considerable range of motion and large retractor processes on the ventral surfaces of the unguals allowed them to flex their claws with powerful motions. Also, the articulatory surfaces of their phalanges were oblique to the bone's long axis rather than perpendicular to it. This allowed for much more surface area for the flexor muscles.
Discovery
Cotylorhynchus were considered a part of the first wave of amniote diversity. There have been three species of Cotylorhynchus discovered: C. hancocki, C. romeri[5] and C. bransoni. C. hancocki is believed to be a descendent of the slightly smaller C. romeri.
- Various skeletal parts of C. romeri have been found around central Oklahoma[3] in parts of Cleveland County.
- C. bransoni specimens have been uncovered in Kingfisher and Blaine Counties of central-northwest Oklahoma.
Classification
Cotylorhynchus belongs to the family Caseidae, a family of massively built synapsids with small heads and barrel-like bodies. It was a derived member of Caseidae. It is a sister taxon of Angelosaurus.
Below is a cladogram by Maddin et al. in 2008.[6]
| Caseasauria |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |
See also
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cotylorhynchus. |
References
- ↑ Maddin, Hillary C.; Sidor, Christian A.; Reisz, Robert R. (2008). "Cranial Anatomy of Ennatosaurus tecton (Synapsid: Caseidae) From the Middle Permian of Russia and the Evolutionary Relationships of Caseidae". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 28 (1): 161. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2008)28[160:CAOETS]2.0.CO;2.
- ↑ "http://palaeos.com/vertebrates/synapsida/caseasauria.html". Retrieved 27 August 2012. External link in
|title=(help) - 1 2 "Fossil Evidence Permian". Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
- ↑ Olson, Everett C. (1962). "Late Permian Terrestrial Vertebrates, U. S. A. and U. S. S. R". Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 52 (2).
- ↑ Stovall, J. Willis; Price, Llewellyn; Romer, Alfred (1966). "The Postcranial Skeleton of the Giant Permian Pelycosaur Cotylorhynchus romeri" (PDF). Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 135 (1). Retrieved 27 August 2012.
- ↑ Maddin; et al. (2008). "Cranial anatomy of "Ennatosaurus tecton" (Synapsida: Caseidae) from the middle permian of russia and the evolutionary relationships of Caseidae" (PDF): 173. Retrieved 26 November 2013.