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Sphenacodontidae ✝
| Description | Sphenacodontidae (Greek: "wedge point tooth family") is an extinct family of small to large, advanced, carnivorous, Late Pennsylvanian to middle Permian pelycosaurs. Primitive forms were generally small (60 cm to 1 meter), but during the later part of the early Permian these animals grew progressively larger (up to 3 meters or more), to become the top predators of their environments. Sphenacodontid fossils are so far known only from North America and Europe. From Wikipedia article at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphenacodontidae, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Source Data |
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| Rank | family | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomy (GBIF) | Life : Animalia : Chordata : Reptilia : Sphenacodontidae | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomy (PBDB) | Life : Animalia : Chordata : Osteichthyes : Cotylosauria : Sphenacodontidae | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomic Status (GBIF) | accepted | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification (PBDB,GBIF) |
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| Scientific Name | Sphenacodontidae | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opinions (PBDB) |
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| Status (PBDB) | extinct | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxon Size (PBDB) | 36 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First Recorded Appearance | 305 - 303 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wikipedia | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphenacodontidae |
Fossil Distribution
Subtaxa
| Name | Status | Common Name(s) | Fossil Occurrences | Oldest | Youngest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Secodontosaurinae ✝ subfamily | listed (PBDB) | 5 | 290 Ma Permian | 279 Ma Permian | |
 Sphenacodontinae ✝subfamily | listed (PBDB) | 114 | 305 Ma Carboniferous | 279 Ma Permian | |
| Varanopsinae ✝ subfamily | listed (PBDB) | ||||
| Bathygnathus ✝ genus | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 1 | 290 Ma Permian | 290 Ma Permian | |
| Cryptovenator ✝ genus | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 1 | 304 Ma Carboniferous | 304 Ma Carboniferous | |
| Ctenorhachis ✝ genus | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 1 | 290 Ma Permian | 290 Ma Permian | |
| Ctenospondylus ✝ genus | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 3 | 296 Ma Permian | 290 Ma Permian | |
 Dimetrodon ✝genus | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 85 | 299 Ma Carboniferous | 279 Ma Permian | |
| Macromerion ✝ genus | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 2 | 305 Ma Carboniferous | 305 Ma Carboniferous | |
| Neosaurus ✝ genus | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 1 | 299 Ma Carboniferous | 299 Ma Carboniferous | |
 Secodontosaurus ✝genus | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 5 | 290 Ma Permian | 279 Ma Permian | |
| Sphenacodon ✝ genus | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 22 | 304 Ma Carboniferous | 296 Ma Permian |
Obsolete Names
| Name | Source | Taxon Rank | Taxonomy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dimetrodon kempae Romer, 1937 | GBIF | species | Animalia : Chordata : Reptilia : Dimetrodon kempae |
| Pantelosauridae | GBIF | family | Animalia : Chordata : Reptilia : Pantelosauridae |
| Eosyodon hudsoni Olson, 1962 | GBIF | species | Animalia : Chordata : Reptilia : Eosyodon hudsoni |
| Palaeohatteriidae | GBIF | family | Animalia : Chordata : Reptilia : Palaeohatteriidae |
Synonymy List
| Year | Name and Author |
|---|---|
| 1878 | Sphenacodontidae Marsh |
| 1889 | Palaeohatteriidae Baur p. 310 |
| 1893 | Palaeohatteriidae Boulenger p. 209 |
| 1903 | Palaeohatteriidae Osborn p. 467 |
| 1925 | Pantelosauridae Huene |
| 1937 | Dimetrodon kempae Romer p. 95 |
| 1946 | Sphenacodontidae Kuhn p. 56 |
| 1953 | Sphenacodontidae Olson and Beerbower p. 406 |
| 1962 | Eosyodon Olson pp. 59, 89 |
| 1962 | Eosyodon hudsoni Olson p. 60 figs. 27-30; pls. 13, 14 |
| 1965 | Sphenacodontidae Lewis and Vaughn p. C27 |
| 1966 | Sphenacodontidae Kuhn p. 122 |
| Year | Name and Author |
|---|---|
| 1973 | Sphenacodontidae Daly p. 587 |
| 1977 | Sphenacodontidae Berman p. 108 |
| 1977 | Sphenacodontidae Currie p. 929 |
| 1982 | Sphenacodontidae Kemp p. 348 |
| 1986 | Sphenacodontidae Reisz p. 74 |
| 1988 | Eosyodon Carroll |
| 1988 | Sphenacodontidae Carroll |
| 1988 | Eosyodon King |
| 1991 | Sphenacodontidae Hopson p. 646 |
| 2005 | Sphenacodontidae Martens et al. |
| 2009 | Sphenacodontidae Evans et al. p. 222 |
| 2011 | Sphenacodontidae Fröbisch et al. |
References
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!
Tillman County, Oklahoma, USA