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Ophiacodontidae ✝

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Source Data

Source	ID	Link
Global Biodiversity Information Facility ID (GBIF)	Not linked to a GBIF record.
PaleoBioDB ID (PBDB)	38884	https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=38884

Rank

family (PBDB)

Taxonomy (PBDB)

Life : Animalia : Chordata : Osteichthyes : Cotylosauria : Ophiacodontidae

Classification
(PBDB,GBIF)

Rank	Name	Author
-	Eukaryota
-	Opisthokonta	Cavalier-Smith 1987
kingdom	Animalia
-	Triploblastica	Lankester 1877
-	Nephrozoa	Jondelius et al. 2002
-	Deuterostomia	Grobben 1908
phylum	Chordata	Haeckel 1847
subphylum	Vertebrata	Lamarck 1801
superclass	Gnathostomata	Gegenbauer 1874
-	Osteichthyes
-	Sarcopterygii	Romer 1955
subclass	Dipnotetrapodomorpha
subclass	Tetrapodomorpha
-	Tetrapoda
-	Reptiliomorpha	Säve-Söderbergh 1934
-	Anthracosauria	Säve-Söderbergh 1934
-	Batrachosauria
-	Cotylosauria
-	Amniota	Haeckel 1866
-	Synapsida	Osborn 1903
suborder	Eupelycosauria	Kemp 1982
family	Ophiacodontidae	Nopsca 1923

Common Name

ophiacodont

Opinions (PBDB)

Name	Rank	Opinion	Evidence	Author
Ophiacodontidae	family	belongs to Ophiacodontia	stated with evidence	Nopcsa, 1923
Ophiacodontidae	family	belongs to Ophiacodontia	stated without evidence	Lewis and Vaughn, 1965
Ophiacodontidae	family	belongs to Ophiacodontia	stated with evidence	Kuhn, 1966
Ophiacodontidae	family	belongs to Eupelycosauria	stated without evidence	Kemp, 1982
Ophiacodontidae	order	belongs to Captorhinomorpha	stated with evidence	Gardiner, 1982
Ophiacodontidae	family	belongs to Eupelycosauria	stated with evidence	Reisz, 1986
Ophiacodontidae	family	belongs to Pelycosauria	implied	Carroll, 1988
Ophiacodontidae	family	belongs to Eupelycosauria	implied	Kissel and Lehman, 2002

Status (PBDB)

extinct

Taxon Size (PBDB)

First Recorded Appearance

315 - 307 Ma
Carboniferous

Last Recorded Appearance

279 - 268 Ma
Permian

Environment

terrestrial (based on Amniota)

Motility

actively mobile (based on Osteichthyes)

Taphonomy

phosphatic (based on Vertebrata)

Primary Reference (PBDB)

R. L. Carroll. 1988. Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution

Fossil Distribution

Subtaxa

Name	Status	Fossil Occurrences	Oldest	Youngest
Clepsydropinae ✝ subfamily	listed (PBDB)
Archaeothyris ✝ genus	listed (PBDB)	3	315 Ma Carboniferous	311 Ma Carboniferous
Clepsydrops ✝ genus	listed (PBDB)	9	315 Ma Carboniferous	290 Ma Permian
Embolophorus ✝ genus	listed (PBDB)
Ophiacodon ✝ genus	listed (PBDB)	77	304 Ma Carboniferous	279 Ma Permian
Varanosaurus ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)	6	290 Ma Permian	279 Ma Permian

Synonymy List

Year	Name and Author
1878	Clepsydropidae Cope p. 529
1902	Clepsydropidae Hay p. 431
1907	Clepsydropidae Case
1907	Poliosauridae Case
1910	Poliosauridae Case p. 183
1923	Ophiacodontidae Nopcsa p. 18
1923	Ophiacodontidae Nopsca
1946	Ophiacodontidae Kuhn p. 56

Year	Name and Author
1965	Ophiacodontidae Lewis and Vaughn p. C26
1966	Ophiacodontidae Kuhn p. 118
1982	Ophiacodontidae Gardiner p. 228
1982	Ophiacodontidae Kemp p. 348
1986	Ophiacodontidae Reisz p. 66
1988	Ophiacodontidae Carroll
2002	Ophiacodontidae Kissel and Lehman p. 536

References

Carroll R. L. (1988) , Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution, 1-698

Cope E. D. Descriptions of extinct Batrachia and Reptilia from the Permian formations of Texas, Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 17, 505-530

Hay O. P. (1902) , Bibliography and Catalogue of the Fossil Vertebrata of North America. Bulletin of the United States Geological Survey 179, 1-868

Case E. C. (1907) Revision of the Pelycosauria of North America., Carnegie Institution of Washington 55, 3-176

Case E. C. (1910) The skeleton of Poecilospondylus francisi, a new genus and species of Pelycosauria, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 23, 183-188

Nopcsa B. F. (1923) Die Familien der Reptilien [The families of reptiles], Forschritte der Geologie und Palaeontologie. Verlag von Gebrüder Borntraeger, Berlin 2, 1-210

Kuhn O. (1946) Das System der fossilen und rezenten Amphibien und Reptilien [The system of fossil and recent amphibians and reptiles], Bericht der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft in Bamberg 29, 49-67

Lewis G. E., Vaughn P. P. (1965) Early Permian Vertebrates from the Cutler Formation of the Placerville Area, Colorado, United States Geological Survey Professional Papers 503-C, C1-C46

Kuhn O. W. M. (1966) , Die Reptilien. System und Stammesgeschichte [The Reptiles. Systematics and Phylogeny.], 1-154

Kemp T. S. (1982) , Mammal-like Reptiles and the Origin of Mammals, 1-363

Reisz R. R. (1986) Pelycosauria, Handbuch der Paläoherpetologie / Encyclopedia of Paleoherpetology 17A, 1-102

Kissel R. A., Lehman T. M. (2002) Upper Pennsylvanian tetrapods from the Ada Formation of Seminole County, Oklahoma, Journal of Paleontology 76 3, 529-545

Data courtesy of: PBDB: The Paleobiology Database, Creative Commons CC-BY licenced. , GBIF: the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, various licences, iDigBio, various licences, and EOL: The Encyclopedia of Life (Open Data Public Domain). Because fossils are made of minerals too!

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