Editing Eryops (section)

== Description ==
[[File:Eryops1DB.jpg|left|thumb|Life restoration]]
''Eryops'' averaged a little over {{convert|1.5|-|2.0|m|ftin|abbr=on}} long and could grow up to {{convert|3|m|ftin|abbr=on}},<ref name=Schoch2009>{{cite journal|doi=10.1146/annurev.earth.031208.100113|title=Evolution of life cycles in early amphibians|journal=Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences |volume=37 |issue=1|pages=135–162 |year=2009 |last1=Schoch |first1=Rainer R.|bibcode=2009AREPS..37..135S}}</ref> making them among the largest land animals of their time. Adults weighed between {{cvt|102|and|222|kg|lb}}.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hart|first1=L.J.|last2=Campione|first2=N.E.|last3=McCurry|first3=M.R.|year=2022|title=On the estimation of body mass in temnospondyls: a case study using the large-bodied Eryops and Paracyclotosaurus|journal=Palaeontology|volume=65|issue=6|pages=e12629|doi=10.1111/pala.12629|doi-access=free}}</ref> The skull was proportionately large, being broad and flat and reaching lengths of {{convert|60|cm|in|abbr=on}}. It had an enormous mouth with many curved teeth, like those of frogs. Its teeth had [[tooth enamel|enamel]] with a folded pattern, leading to its early classification as a "[[labyrinthodont]]" ("maze toothed"). The shape and cross section of ''Eryops'' teeth made them exceptionally strong and resistant to stresses.<ref name= Rinehart&lucas2013/> The palate, or roof of the mouth, contained three pairs of backward-curved fangs, and was covered in backward-pointing bony projections which would have been used to trap slippery prey once caught. This, coupled with the wide gape, suggest an inertial method of feeding, in which the animal would grasp its prey and thrust forward, forcing the prey further back into its mouth.<ref name= Rinehart&lucas2013>{{cite journal|last1=Rinehart, L. F. |last2=Lucas, S. G. |year=2013 |title=Tooth form and function in temnospondyl amphibians: relationship of shape to applied stress |journal=New Mexico Museum of Natural History Bulletin |volume=61 |pages=533–542 |url=http://paleo.cortland.edu/globaltriassic2/Bulletin%2061%20Final/40-Rinehart%20and%20Lucas%20(Metopo%20teeth).pdf}}</ref>

''Eryops'' was much more strongly built and sturdy than its relatives, and had the most massive and heavily ossified skeleton of all known temnospondyls.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=0ps6AwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Eryops+the+most+heavily+ossified+one%22&pg=PT237 Amphibian Evolution: The Life of Early Land Vertebrates]</ref> The limbs were especially large and strong. The [[pectoral girdle]] was highly developed, with a larger size for increased [[muscle]] attachments. Most notably, the shoulder girdle was disconnected from the skull, resulting in improved terrestrial locomotion. The crossopterygian [[cleithrum]] was retained as the [[clavicle]], and the [[interclavicle]] was well-developed, lying on the underside of the chest. In primitive forms, the two clavicles and the interclavicle could have grown ventrally in such a way as to form a broad chest plate, although that was not the case in ''Eryops''. The upper portion of the girdle had a flat scapular blade, with the [[glenoid]] cavity situated below performing as the articulation surface for the [[humerus]], while ventrally there was a large flat [[coracoid]] plate turning in toward the midline.<ref name=appendicular_eryops>{{cite journal|last1=Pawley|first1=Kat|last2=Warren|first2=Anne |year=2006 |title=The appendicular skeleton of ''Eryops megacephalus'' Cope, 1877 (Temnospondyli: Eryopoidea) from the Lower Permian of North America |journal=Journal of Paleontology |volume=80 |issue=3 |pages=561–580 |doi=10.1666/0022-3360(2006)80[561:TASOEM]2.0.CO;2 |jstor=4095151|s2cid=56320401 }}</ref>

The [[Pelvis|pelvic]] girdle was much larger than the simple plate found in fishes, accommodating more muscles. It extended far dorsally and was joined to the backbone by one or more specialized sacral [[rib]]s. The hind legs were somewhat specialized in that they not only supported weight, but also provided propulsion. The dorsal extension of the pelvis was the ''[[ilium (bone)|ilium]]'', while the broad ventral plate was composed of the [[pubis (bone)|pubis]] in front and the [[ischium]] behind. The three bones met at a single point in the center of the pelvic triangle, called the ''acetabulum'', providing a surface of articulation for the [[femur]].<ref name=appendicular_eryops/>

The texture of ''Eryops'' skin was revealed by a fossilized "mummy" described in 1941. This mummy specimen showed that the body in life was covered in a pattern of oval bumps.<ref name=romerwitter1941>{{cite journal|last1=Romer|first1=A. S.|last2=Witter|first2=R. V. |year=1941 |title=The skin of the rachitomous amphibian ''Eryops'' |journal=American Journal of Science |volume=239 |issue=11 |pages=822–824 |doi=10.2475/ajs.239.11.822|bibcode=1941AmJS..239..822R|doi-access=free }}</ref>