Angelosaurus
Name:
Angelosaurus
(San Angelo lizard).
Phonetic: An-gel-o-sore-us.
Named By: E. C. Olsen & J. R.
Beerbower - 1953.
Classification: Chordata, Synapsida,
Pelycosauria, Caseidae.
Species: A. dolani (type),
A. greeni, A. romeri.
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: A. dolani 3 - 3.5
meters long. A. greeni 4 meters long. A.
romeri 2.5 meters long.
Known locations: USA, Oklahoma & Texas.
Time period: Kungurian to Wordian of the Permian.
Fossil representation: Remains of several partially
preserved individuals.
A
heavily built pelycosaur
similar to Cotylorhynchus,
Angelosaurus also
shared its habitat with Caseopsis and Caseoides,
all caseidids
typified by the type genus of the group, Casea.
These were a
distinctive group of pelycosaurs that don’t seem to have been that
specially adapted beyond being quadrupedal and having large round
bodies that are often described as being barrel-like. Herbivores like
these seem to have been quite common at this time, and were likely
one of the principal prey types of predatory pelycosaurs like the sail
backed Dimetrodon.
Angelosaurus
species came in a range of sizes with A. greeni
being the largest
at four meters and A. romeri the smallest at
2.5 meters. The
type species A. dolani is roughly intermediate
between these two in
terms of size. The oldest species of Angelosaurus
are A. dolani and
A. greeni (Kungurian-Roadian), while A.
romeri seems to have
existed slightly later in the Permian (Roadian-Wordian). This may
indicate that as time went on the Angelosaurus
genus evolved to become
physically smaller.
Further reading
- The San Angelo Formation, Permian of Texas, and its
Vertebrates, E. C. Olsen & J. R. Beerbower -
1953.
- Permian vertebrates from Oklahoma and Texas. Part
I.—Vertebrates from the Flowerpot Formation, Permian of Oklahoma,
E. C. Olsen & H. Barghusen - 1962.
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