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“Pelycosaur”-Grade Synapsids: Introduction

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Early Evolutionary History of the Synapsida

Part of the book series: Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology ((VERT))

Abstract

Synapsids first appear in Late Carboniferous deposits in Nova Scotia, Canada. By the latest Carboniferous, they are the dominant vertebrates in terrestrial ecosystems and exceed their sister group the reptiles in geographic range, abundance, species richness, and morphological diversity. This pattern continues throughout the Permian. Permo-Carboniferous synapsids (“pelycosaurs”) include some of the first high-fiber herbivores in the tetrapod fossil record (Edaphosauridae and Caseidae) as well as predatory taxa (Eothyrididae, Varanopidae, Ophiacodontidae, and Sphenacodontia). New research on the anatomy of eothryidids and varanopids from the western United States is introduced, as well as a new taxon of large-bodied varanopid from Germany. A functional analysis of possibly semiaquatic habits in the purported piscivorous taxon Ophiacodon is introduced.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road N, Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6, Canada

    Robert R. Reisz

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  1. Robert R. Reisz
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Correspondence to Robert R. Reisz .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Paleontology and Richard Gilder, Graduate School American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, USA

    Christian F. Kammerer

  2. Department of Geology, Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    Kenneth D. Angielczyk

  3. Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung an der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Jörg Fröbisch

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Reisz, R.R. (2014). “Pelycosaur”-Grade Synapsids: Introduction. In: Kammerer, C., Angielczyk, K., Fröbisch, J. (eds) Early Evolutionary History of the Synapsida. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6841-3_1

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