''Dasyceps'' is an extinct genus of zatracheidid

temnospondyl Temnospondyli (from Greek language, Greek τέμνειν, ''temnein'' 'to cut' and σπόνδυλος, ''spondylos'' 'vertebra') or temnospondyls is a diverse ancient order (biology), order of small to giant tetrapods—often considered Labyrinth ...

from the early

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years, from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.902 Mya. It is the s ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

History of study

''Dasyceps'' was originally named in 1850 for the type species, ''D. bucklandi'', which honors English paleontologist

William Buckland William Buckland Doctor of Divinity, DD, Royal Society, FRS (12 March 1784 – 14 August 1856) was an English theologian, geologist and paleontology, palaeontologist. His work in the early 1820s proved that Kirkdale Cave in North Yorkshire h ...

, but under the now defunct genus "''Labyrinthodon''," which is now regarded as a junior synonym of the Triassic capitosaur ''

Mastodonsaurus ''Mastodonsaurus'' (meaning "teat tooth lizard") is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibian from the Middle Triassic of Europe. It belongs to a Triassic group of temnospondyls called Capitosauria, characterized by their large body size, large ...

''. The new genus name for the species was created by

Thomas Huxley Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895) was an English biologist and anthropologist who specialized in comparative anatomy. He has become known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The stor ...

in 1859. A detailed description of the taxon was given in German by the German paleontologist

Friedrich von Huene Baron Friedrich Richard von Hoyningen-Huene (22 March 1875 – 4 April 1969) was a German nobleman paleontologist who described a large number of dinosaurs, more than anyone else in 20th-century Europe. He studied a range of Permo-Carbonife ...

in 1910. The most recent description is that of Paton (1975). A second species from Texas, ''D. microphthalmus'', was originally named as a species of ''Zatrachys'' but was moved to ''Dasyceps'' by Paton (1975).

Anatomy

''Dasyceps'' is the largest of the three zatracheidid genera, with a skull length approaching 30 cm. It is diagnosed by the following features: (1) proportionately long, U-shaped skull and elongate premaxillae; (2) relatively posteriorly situated nares; (3) dorsal exposure of septomaxilla replaced by nasal and maxilla, which contact posterior to the naris, excluding the lacrimal; (4) quadratojugal expanded but without spikes; (5) tabular posteriorly expanded; (6) long suture between squamosal and tabular. Compared to other zatracheidids, the internarial fontanelle of ''D. bucklandi'' forms a nearly perfect teardrop-shaped opening that divides the nasals more than in ''Acanthostomatops'' but that does not divide the frontals as is found in ''Zatrachys''. ''Dasyceps bucklandi'' is only known from a holotype skull split into a part and counterpart block. ''Dasyceps microphthalmus'' is known from the holotype and two referred specimens.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3755171 Permian temnospondyls of Europe Taxa named by Thomas Henry Huxley Fossil taxa described in 1859 Prehistoric amphibian genera Zatracheidae