Ophiacodon mirus Marsh, 1878
Synapsida
"Pelycosauria"
Ophiacodontidae
Early Permian
Abo/Cutler Fm
New Mexico, US
Length: 2.5 m
Body proportions reached its extremes with
Ophiacodon, the best known and most studied ophiacodont. Many skeletons of this odd-looking animal are known from the Early Permian of Texas, New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Utah and Ohio and it is unclear how many of the described species are actually valid. The following species are still recognized today:
O. mirus, known from several skeletons including a nearly complete one from New mexico and Oklahoma;
O. retroversus, known from multiple materials from Texas and Oklahoma, including a near complete skeleton;
O. uniformis from several partial skeletons from Texas and Oklahoma;
O. navajonicus from fragmentary postcranial skeletons from New Mexico;
O. hilli known from a fragmentary skeleton from Kansas;
O. major from fragmentary materials from Texas; It appears that size difference might reflect different growth stage rather than species (Brinkman, 1988).
Ophiacodon was originally thought to be a semi-aquatic animal but recent studies debunked all the supposed aquatic adaptation that the animal might have possessed and today (Felice & Angielczyk, 2014),
Ophiacodon is viewed as a fully terrestrial predator.
January 5, 2015
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