Edaphosauridae is a family of mostly large (up to or more) Late Carboniferous to Early Permian . Edaphosaur fossils are so far known only from North America and Europe.
Characteristics
They were the earliest known
herbivore amniotes and, along with the
Diadectidae, the earliest known herbivorous
.
The head is small in relation to the bulky body, and there is a tall sail along the back, the purpose of which is unknown and a subject of active research and debate, but which was once widely believed to have functioned as a
thermoregulation device.
Classification
The interrelationships of Edaphosauridae was investigated in details by David M. Mazierski and Robert R. Reisz (2010). The
cladogram below is modified after their phylogenetic analysis.
Below is a cladogram modified from the analysis of Benson (2012):
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Carroll, R. L. (1988), Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution, WH Freeman & Co.
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Reisz, R. R., 1986, Handbuch der Paläoherpetologie – Encyclopedia of Paleoherpetology, Part 17A Pelycosauria Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil,
External links
