Dasyceps

Dasyceps is an extinct genus of zatracheidid temnospondyl from the early Permian of England.

Dasyceps
Temporal range: Early Permian
Dasyceps bucklandi
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Order: †Temnospondyli
Family: †Zatrachydidae
Genus: †Dasyceps
Huxley, 1859
Type species
†Dasyceps bucklandi
Lloyd, 1850
Synonyms

History of study

Dasyceps was originally named in 1850[1] for the type species, D. bucklandi, which honors English paleontologist William Buckland, but under the now defunct genus "Labyrinthodon," which is now regarded as a junior synonym of the Triassic capitosaur Mastodonsaurus. The new genus name for the species was created by Thomas Huxley in 1859.[2] A detailed description of the taxon was given in German by the German paleontologist Friedrich von Huene in 1910.[3] The most recent description is that of Paton (1975).[4] A second species from Texas, D. microphthalmus, was originally named as a species of Zatrachys[5] but was moved to Dasyceps by Paton (1975).

Anatomy

Dasyceps is the largest of the three zatracheidid genera, with a skull length approaching 30 cm. It is diagnosed by the following features: (1) proportionately long, U-shaped skull and elongate premaxillae; (2) relatively posteriorly situated nares; (3) dorsal exposure of septomaxilla replaced by nasal and maxilla, which contact posterior to the naris, excluding the lacrimal; (4) quadratojugal expanded but without spikes; (5) tabular posteriorly expanded; (6) long suture between squamosal and tabular.[6] Compared to other zatracheidids, the internarial fontanelle of D. bucklandi forms a nearly perfect teardrop-shaped opening that divides the nasals more than in Acanthostomatops but that does not divide the frontals as is found in Zatrachys.

Dasyceps bucklandi is only known from a holotype skull split into a part and counterpart block. Dasyceps microphthalmus is known from the holotype and two referred specimens.

References
  1. Lloyd, G. (1850). "On a new species of Labyrinthodon from the New Red Sandstone of Warwickshire". British Association for the Advancement of Science. 19: 56–57.
  2. Huxley, Thomas H. (1859). "On Dasyceps bucklandi (Labyrinthodon bucklandi, Lloyd)". Memoirs of the Geological Society of the United Kingdom. 1859: 52–56.
  3. Huene, Friedrich von. (1910). Neubeschreibung des permischen stegocephalen Dasyceps bucklandi (Lloyd) aus Kenilworth. Fischer. OCLC 66304763.
  4. Paton, Roberta L. (1975). "A Lower Permian temnospondylous amphibian from the English Midlands". Palaeontology. 18 (4): 831–845.
  5. Cope, E. D. (1895). "The Reptilian Order Cotylosauria". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 34 (149): 436–457. ISSN 0003-049X. JSTOR 982900.
  6. Schoch, Rainer R.; Milner, Andrew R. (2014). Sues, Hans-Dieter (ed.). Handbuch der Paläoherpetologie = Encyclopedia of paleoherpetology Part 3A2. Temnospondyli. Stuttgart: Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil. ISBN 978-3-931516-26-0. OCLC 580976.
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