Diplocaulus

Diplocaulus

• North America
• Morocco

Diplocaulus was an amphibian -like creature from the group of Nectridea. It lived during the Permian in freshwater. Fossils have been found in North America ( Diplocaulus magnicornis ) and northwest Africa ( Diplocaulus minimus ).

Features

Adult specimens Diplocaulus fall on mainly by their large, horn-like, obliquely rearward skull excesses that gave the flattened head the shape of a boomerang. The outgrowths were formed from the strongly elongated squamosal and the Tabulare, skull bones, which usually occupy only a small area at the rear corners of the Tetrapodenschädel. The horns were not present in young animals. Since you have found hundreds of fossil specimens of Diplocaulus in all stages of growth, one could understand how the horns grew with increasing age of the animals. From other Nectriden Diplocaulus is also distinguished by a shorter tail and less vertebrae. Diplocaulus was a half to one meter long.

Studies of head models of Diplocaulus showed that the boomerang -shaped head acted as wing already in easily flowing water and buoyancy delivered when he was held approximately horizontally or slightly upward. Possibly lived Diplocaulus and the similar-looking Diploceraspis on the seabed and used these properties of its head to rise quickly when a potential prey animal swam past.