Euromycter

Euromycter is an extinct genus of caseid synapsids that lived in what is now southern France during the Early Permian (late Artinskian) about 285 million years ago. The holotype and only known specimen of Euromycter (MNHN.F.MCL-2) includes the complete skull with lower jaws and hyoid apparatus, six cervical vertebrae with proatlas, anterior part of interclavicle, partial right clavicle, right posterior coracoid, distal head of right humerus, left and right radius, left and right ulna, and complete left manus. It was collected by D. Sigogneau-Russell and D. Russell in 1970 at the top of the M1 Member, Grès Rouge Group, near the village of Valady (département of Aveyron), Rodez Basin. It was first assigned to the species "Casea" rutena by Sigogneau-Russell and Russell in 1974. More recently, it was reassigned to its own genus, Euromycter, by Robert R. Reisz, Hillary C. Maddin, Jörg Fröbisch and Jocelyn Falconnet in 2011. The preserved part of the skeleton suggests a size between 1,70 m (5,5 ft) and 1,80 m (5,9 ft) in length for this individual. The generic name refers to the location of the taxon in Europe, and “mycter” = nose, refers to the enlarged external naris that characterizes the caseids. The species epithet refers to ruteni (Les Rutènes in French) the Latin name of the Gallic tribe that lived in the Rodez area. The skull is well-preserved but has suffered of a slight flattening as a result of a tectonic thrust exerted toward the right side and the front. As in other caseid, the skull is small compared to the skeleton (here mainly the forelimbs), and shows very large external nares, a short facial region, and a dorsal surface of the skull dotted of numerous small depressions. In addition, they are many palatal teeth, and the teeth of the upper jaws are numerous (four premaxillary and eleven maxillary teeth) and spatulated with crowns having 5 to 8 cusps. The front teeth, fairly long and slightly recurved, were probably suited to aid in gathering vegetation into the mouth, whereas it is presumed that palatal teeth had to work in conjunction with a tough and massive muscular tongue as indicated by the presence of a very well-developed hyoid apparatus.