Edaphosauridae

Edaphosauridae is a family of mostly large (up to 3 meters or more) Late Carboniferous to Early Permian synapsids. Edaphosaur fossils are so far known only from North America and Europe.

Edaphosauridae
Temporal range: Late Carboniferous to Early Permian
Mounted skeleton of Edaphosaurus pogonias in the Field Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Synapsida
Clade: Sphenacomorpha
Family: †Edaphosauridae
Cope, 1882
Type species
†Edaphosaurus pogonias
Cope, 1882
Genera

Characteristics

They were the earliest known herbivorous amniotes and, along with the Diadectidae, the earliest known herbivorous tetrapods. The head is small in relation to the bulky body, and there is a tall sail along the back, which may have functioned as a thermoregulatory device.

Classification

The interrelationships of Edaphosauridae was investigated in details by David M. Mazierski and Robert R. Reisz (2010). The cladogram below is modified after their phylogenetic analysis.[2]

Edaphosauridae
 

Ianthasaurus hardestiorum

 
 
 

Glaucosaurus megalops

 
 

Lupeosaurus kayi

 
 
 

Edaphosaurus novomexicanus

 
 
 

Edaphosaurus colohistion

 
 
 

Edaphosaurus boanerges

 
 
 

Edaphosaurus cruciger

 
 

Edaphosaurus pogonias

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Below is a cladogram modified from the analysis of Benson (in press):[3]

 
 

Tseajaia campi

 
 

Limnoscelis paludis

 
Amniota
 
 

Captorhinus spp.

 
 

Protorothyris archeri

 
 
Synapsida
 
 

Ophiacodontidae

 
 

Varanopidae

 
 
 
 

Caseasauria

 
 
 

Ianthodon schultzei

 
 
Edaphosauridae
 

Ianthasaurus hardestiorum

 
 
 

Glaucosaurus megalops

 
 

Lupeosaurus kayi

 
 
 

Edaphosaurus boanerges

 
 

Edaphosaurus novomexicanus

 
 
 
 
Sphenacodontia
 

Haptodus garnettensis

 
 
 

Pantelosaurus saxonicus

 
 
 

Therapsida

 
 

Sphenacodontidae

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

References

  1. Frederik Spindler, Sebastian Voigt & Jan Fischer (2019) Edaphosauridae (Synapsida, Eupelycosauria) from Europe and their relationship to North American representatives. PalZ (advance online publication) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-019-00453-2 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12542-019-00453-2
  2. David M. Mazierski and Robert R. Reisz (2010). "Description of a new specimen of Ianthasaurus hardestiorum (Eupelycosauria: Edaphosauridae) and a re-evaluation of edaphosaurid phylogeny". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 47 (6): 901–912. Bibcode:2010CaJES..47..901M. doi:10.1139/E10-017.
  3. Benson, R.J. (2012). "Interrelationships of basal synapsids: cranial and postcranial morphological partitions suggest different topologies". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 10 (4): 601–624. doi:10.1080/14772019.2011.631042. S2CID 84706899.
  • Carroll, R. L. (1988), Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution, WH Freeman & Co.
  • Reisz, R. R., 1986, Handbuch der Paläoherpetologie – Encyclopedia of Paleoherpetology, Part 17A Pelycosauria Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil, ISBN 3-89937-032-5


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