Eryops was a large amphibian that lived during the Permian Period, about 295 million years ago. It was one of the largest land animals of its time and probably hunted the cow-sized, sail-backed Dimetrodon. Eryops evolved from lobe-finned fish and adapted to terrestrial life. It was a slow and difficult walker, but a stealthy hunter that ate fish, small reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates. Eryops lived at least 70 million years before the dinosaurs.
Eryops was a temnospondylus (large and very ancient amphibian) of 1.5-2.0 m (5-6 feet) in length whose name means “elongated face”. It lived during the Permian Period, about 295 million years ago, and most of the fossils are found in the Admiral Formation of Archer County, Texas. Eryops is thought to have been one of the largest land animals of its time, as land animals themselves had evolved from fish only about 40 million years earlier. One of the only larger animals living at the time was the cow-sized, sail-backed Dimetrodon, which Eryops probably hunted. Eryops lived at least 70 million years before the dinosaurs.
Eryops is the most famous Paleozoic amphibian and an interesting example of natural engineering. Having evolved from the lobe-finned fish, Eryops retained many fish-like characteristics but adapted them for terrestrial life. Like some fish, Eryops had gaping jaws and a large head in relation to its body. The head is up to two feet long, quite impressive for an animal that is only about 5 feet long. In fact, the main species of Eryops is called Eryops megacephalus, which means “big head”. Like other amphibians, Eryops was a swamp dweller.
Being little more than a fish with superficial adaptations for terrestrial life, Eryops used most of its strength to walk simply by keeping its body off the ground. This was a slow and difficult task, performed with strong, tentacled limbs. Its short, wide steps are preserved as fossil footprints. Erect limbs would not have evolved in animals until tens of millions of years later.
Eryops ate fish, small reptiles, and amphibians, and the many invertebrates, such as insects, available in a terrestrial world with few predatory tetrapods. Like modern crocodiles, Eryops was a stealthy hunter – it couldn’t hunt any other way, being very slow – and probably sat quietly in the water with only its eyes and nostrils visible. It had a short tail, suggesting that it also lacked the ability to move rapidly through water, and could only have existed in a world where the terrestrial niche of carnivores was just beginning to be exploited.
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