#discosauriscus

[neo-jurassica]

A pair of Discosauriscus skeletons that are over 275 million years old. 🕰
This couple of extinct amphibians were turned to stone and became fossils before the #dinosaurs even existed. 🦕
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[palaeopedia]

The Discosauriscus (1933)

Phylum : Chordata Class : Amphibia Order : Seymouriamorpha Family : Discosauriscidae Genus : Discosauriscus Species : D. austriacus, D. pulcherrimus

Early Permian

30 cm long (size)

Boskovice Furrow, Czech Republic (map)

Discosauriscids are only known from larval or neotenic forms, and three ontogenetic stages can be distinguished. Discosauriscus had wide jaws with sharp teeth, short limbs and relatively long tail. The phalangeal formula was 2-3-4-5-3 for both hind- and forelimbs. The body was covered with rounded scales with concentric rings, and a well preserved lateral-line system has been described.

Discosauriscus illustration by Zdenek Burian and fossil

[heckyeahpaleozoology]

Discosauriscus

Discosauriscus refers to a genus of reptiliomorphs - reptile-like amphibians - that lived in what is now Central and Western Europe during the Permian period, about 299-271 mya.

Reptiliomorphs in general are known for technically being amphibians, but exhibiting traits of both amphibians and reptiles; forming a series of "missing links" in an evolutionary chain. Such reptilian traits possessed by Discosauriscus include a sharp-toothed jaw, short limbs, and a body covered in scales (which are interestingly arranged in concentric circles). These traits likely developed in response to the drier climate of the Permian Period, which included an expansive desert covering the interior of the supercontinent Pangaea.

All known specimens of Discosauriscus appear to be juvenile, so it is not clear if only larval specimens have yet been discovered, or if the genus was highly neotenic, retaining many juvenile characteristics into adulthood, as is the case with some modern amphibians. This also makes it difficult to ascertain the animal's adult size. Discosauriscus specimens have been described as retaining evidence of a lateral line system which, with the presence of electroreceptive organs, would indicate an ability to sense electric fields, well-known as a sense of sharks and other extant fish. This animal likely went extinct during Olson's Extinction 270 mya.