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''Bolosaurus'' (from
The Permian period is characterized by the presence of a single supercontinent called Pangea. Pangaea stretched from pole to pole, and thus created a single great ocean called Panthalassa, and the Paleo-Tethys Ocean, which was located between Asia and Gondwana. The single gigantic continental landmass created extreme climates, which are characterized by extreme variations of heat and cold, as well as highly seasonal monsoon conditions in some parts of the supercontinent. Not all regions received abundant rainfalls, and deserts were widespread on Pangaea. Such climate patterns favored gymnosperms over plants that use spore dispersion.
Skull:
The skulls of Bolosaurus are basically triangular in form. The skull is wider and higher in the posterior region, while the anterior snout terminates bluntly. The orbits are large and circular in outline.
Teeth:
Tooth planted in shallow cavity with its crowns expanded transversely to the jaw axis. In the upper jaw, the posterior internal half of the maxillary series is low and horizontal, forming a ledge. The anterior external part forms into a cusp. The teeth of the lower jaw are different from those of the upper jaw via reversed position of ledge and cusp. This pattern suggests that Bolosaurus was herbivorous in diet (Cope, 1878). The best preserved specimen showed a total of 16 teeth (Case 1907).
In 2024, a detailed anatomical study was published of ''Bolosaurus major'' which showed that this animal had a partial secondary palate, which may have allowed it to bite very hard. A similar structure is seen in the bolosaurid ''Belebey vegrandis''
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
''bolos'', "lump" + ''sauros'': lizard]) is an extinct
Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of bolosaurid
Bolosauridae is an extinct family of parareptiles known from the latest Carboniferous ( Gzhelian) or earliest Permian ( Asselian) to the early Guadalupian epoch (latest Roadian stage) of North America, China, Germany, Russia and France. The bolo ...
reptile
Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...
from the Cisuralian
The Cisuralian, also known as the Early Permian, is the first series/epoch of the Permian. The Cisuralian was preceded by the Pennsylvanian and followed by the Guadalupian. The Cisuralian Epoch is named after the western slopes of the Ural Mou ...
epoch
In chronology and periodization, an epoch or reference epoch is an instant in time chosen as the origin of a particular calendar era. The "epoch" serves as a reference point from which time is measured.
The moment of epoch is usually decided b ...
(middle Sakmarian
In the geologic timescale, the Sakmarian is an age or stage of the Permian period. It is a subdivision of the Cisuralian Epoch or Series. The Sakmarian lasted between 293.52 and million years ago (Ma). It was preceded by the Asselian and fo ...
to early Kungurian
In the geologic timescale, the Kungurian is an age or stage of the Permian. It is the latest or upper of four subdivisions of the Cisuralian Epoch or Series. The Kungurian lasted between and million years ago (Ma). It was preceded by the Arti ...
stages) of North Asia
North Asia or Northern Asia () is the northern region of Asia, which is defined in geography, geographical terms and consists of three federal districts of Russia: Ural Federal District, Ural, Siberian Federal District, Siberian, and the Far E ...
and North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
(Red Beds of Texas and Oklahoma
The Red Beds of Texas and Oklahoma are a group of Early Permian-age geologic strata in the southwestern United States cropping out in north-central Texas and south-central Oklahoma. They comprise several stratigraphic groups, including the Clear ...
).
Geological and environmental information
The Permian period is characterized by the presence of a single supercontinent called Pangea. Pangaea stretched from pole to pole, and thus created a single great ocean called Panthalassa, and the Paleo-Tethys Ocean, which was located between Asia and Gondwana. The single gigantic continental landmass created extreme climates, which are characterized by extreme variations of heat and cold, as well as highly seasonal monsoon conditions in some parts of the supercontinent. Not all regions received abundant rainfalls, and deserts were widespread on Pangaea. Such climate patterns favored gymnosperms over plants that use spore dispersion.
Historical information / discovery
The first Bolosaurus was described by Edward Drinker Cope in 1878. His article "Descriptions of Extinct Batrachia and Reptilia from the Permian Formation of Texas" mentioned the findings of crushed skull and few vertebrae of ''Bolosaurus'' striatus and ''Bolosaurus'' rapidens (Cope 1878). The imperfect skull of ''Bolosaurus'' major was found by Robert Broom in 1911 and was published in his article "On the structure and Affinities of Bolosaurus" in 1913 (Broom, 1913), however it was only described in detail over 100 years later. In 1974 a bolosaurid maxilla was found by Tartarinov in Mylva River, Komi, Russia and was named ''Bolosaurus'' traati (Tartarinov 1974). The most recent Bolosaurus species to have been discovered was by Robert R. Reisz, who found the jawbones of ''Bolosaurus'' grandis and published it in 2002 (Reisz 2002).Description and paleobiology
Skull:
The skulls of Bolosaurus are basically triangular in form. The skull is wider and higher in the posterior region, while the anterior snout terminates bluntly. The orbits are large and circular in outline.
Teeth:
Tooth planted in shallow cavity with its crowns expanded transversely to the jaw axis. In the upper jaw, the posterior internal half of the maxillary series is low and horizontal, forming a ledge. The anterior external part forms into a cusp. The teeth of the lower jaw are different from those of the upper jaw via reversed position of ledge and cusp. This pattern suggests that Bolosaurus was herbivorous in diet (Cope, 1878). The best preserved specimen showed a total of 16 teeth (Case 1907).
In 2024, a detailed anatomical study was published of ''Bolosaurus major'' which showed that this animal had a partial secondary palate, which may have allowed it to bite very hard. A similar structure is seen in the bolosaurid ''Belebey vegrandis''
References
*Berman, DS, RR Reisz, D Scott, AC Henrici, SS Sumida & T Martens (2000), Early Permian bipedal reptile. Science 290: 969–972. H. Bolosauridae. *Cope, Edward Drinker. "Descriptions of extinct Batrachia and Reptilia from the Permian formation of Texas." Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society (1878): 505–530. *Broom, Robert, Edward Drinker Cope, and Ermine Cowles Case. "On the structure and affinities of Bolosaurus. Bulletin of the AMNH; v. 32, article 33." (1913). *Case, Ermine Cowles. "Description of the skull of Bolosaurus striatus Cope. Bulletin of the AMNH; v. 23, article 28." (1907). *Reisz, Robert R., Vaia Barkas, and Diane Scott. "A new Early Permian bolosaurid reptile from the Richards Spur Dolese Brothers Quarry, near Fort Sill, Oklahoma." Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 22.1 (2002): 23–28. *Watson, David Meredith Seares. On Bolosaurus and the origin and classification of reptiles. The Museum, 1954. Procolophonomorpha Fossil taxa described in 1878 Permian reptiles of Asia Permian reptiles of North America Prehistoric reptile genera Taxa named by Edward Drinker Cope {{permian-reptile-stub