Extinct Ancestors of Modern Animals

[Spalea]

" Diplocaulus magnicornis ?

Artwork by Liam Elward
Diplocaulus (meaning "double caul") was a genus of lepospondyl amphibians which lived from the Late Carboniferous to Permian periods of North America and Africa. Diplocaulus is by far the largest and best-known of the lepospondyls, characterized by a distinctive boomerang-shaped skull. Remains attributed to Diplocaulus have been found from the Late Permian of Morocco and represent the youngest-known occurrence of a lepospondyl.
Diplocaulus had a stocky, salamander-like body, but was relatively large, reaching up to 1 m (3.3 ft) in length. Although a complete tail is unknown for the genus, a nearly complete articulated skeleton described in 1917 preserved a row of tail vertebrae near the head. This was construed as circumstantial evidence for a long, thin tail capable of reaching the head if the animal was curled up. Most studies since this discovery have argued that anguiliform (eel-like) tail movement was the main force of locomotion utilized by Diplocaulus and its relatives. "

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