Edaphosaurus

Edaphosaurus (ˌɛdəfoʊ-ˈsɔːrəs, meaning "pavement lizard" for dense clusters of teeth) is a genus of extinct edaphosaurid synapsids that lived in what is now North America and Europe around 303.4 to 272.5 million years ago, during the Late Carboniferous to Early Permian. American paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope first described Edaphosaurus in 1882, naming it for the "dental pavement" on both the upper and lower jaws, from the Greek edaphos έδαφος ("ground"; also "pavement") and σαῦρος (sauros) ("lizard"). Edaphosaurus is important as one of the earliest-known, large, plant-eating (herbivorous), amniote tetrapods (four-legged land-living vertebrates). In addition to the large tooth plates in its jaws, the most characteristic feature of Edaphosaurus is a sail on its back. A number of other synapsids from the same time period also have tall dorsal sails, most famously the large apex predator Dimetrodon. However, the sail on Edaphosaurus is different in shape and morphology. The first fossils of Edaphosaurus came from the Texas Red Beds in North America, with later finds in New Mexico, Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Ohio. Fragmentary fossils attributed to Edaphosaurus have also been found in eastern Germany in Central Europe. The name Edaphosaurus, meant as "pavement lizard", is often translated inaccurately as "earth lizard", "ground lizard", or "foundation lizard" based on other meanings for the Greek edaphos, such as "soil, earth, ground, land, base" used in Neo-Latin scientific nomenclature (edaphology). However, older names in paleontology, such as Edaphodon Buckland, 1838 "pavement tooth" (a fossil fish), match Cope's clearly intended meaning "pavement" for Greek edaphos in reference to the animal's teeth. Edaphosaurus species measured from in length and weighed over 300 kg (660 lb). In keeping with its tiny head, the cervical vertebrae are reduced in length, while the dorsal vertebrae are massive, the tail is deep, the limbs are short and robust, and the ribs form a wide ribcage.