Eogyrinus

Name: Eogyrinus ‭(‬Dawn Tadpole‭)‬.
Phonetic: E-o-gy-rin-us.
Named By: D.‭ ‬M.‭ ‬S.‭ ‬Watson‭ ‬-‭ ‬1926.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Amphibia,‭ ‬Reptiliomorpha,‭ ‬Anthracosauria,‭ ‬Embolomeri,‭ ‬Eogyrinidae.
Species: E.‭ ‬attheyi‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Piscivore/Carnivore.
Size: Roughly up to about‭ ‬4.5‭ ‬meters long.
Known locations: England,‭ ‬Northumberland.‭ ‬Scotland,‭ ‬Lanarkshire.
Time period: Carboniferous.
Fossil representation: Skull and postcranial skeletal remains.



       For the Carboniferous period Eogyrinus was a particularly large predator that had an almost eel-like body that measured out over four meters in length.‭ ‬This body,‭ ‬which featured limbs severely reduced in physical size,‭ ‬was an adaptation to swimming and hunting in Carboniferous swamps which would have been clogged with dense weeds,‭ ‬submerged plants and roots.‭ ‬A body with a very small frontal profile like Eogyrinus had would have had little difficultly in navigating the submerged obstacles,‭ ‬meaning that Eogyrinus could root out hidden prey no matter where they tried to hide.
       In more modern times,‭ ‬Eogyrinus has been speculated to be synonymous with the genus Pholiderpeton.‭ ‬If this is correct then fossils attributed to Eogyrinus will have to be renamed and moved to Pholiderpeton since Pholiderpeton was named long before Eogyrinus was.

Further reading
-‭ ‬Croonian lecture.‭—‬The evolution and origin of the Amphibia.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Proceedings of the Royal Society of London,‭ ‬Series B‭ ‬214:189-257.‭ ‬-‭ ‬D.‭ ‬M.‭ ‬S.‭ ‬Watson‭ ‬-‭ ‬1926.
-‭ ‬The axial skeleton of the labyrinthodont Eogyrinus attheyi.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Journal of Zoology.‭ ‬150:‭ ‬199-222.‭ ‬-‭ ‬A.‭ ‬L.‭ ‬Panchen‭ ‬-‭ ‬1966.
-‭ ‬The skull and skeleton of Eogyrinus attheyi Watson‭ (‬Amphibia:‭ ‬Labyrinthodontia‭)‬.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London,‭ ‬B.‭ ‬263:‭ ‬279-326.‭ ‬-‭ ‬A.‭ ‬L.‭ ‬Panchen‭ ‬-‭ ‬1972.
- Dates, nodes and character conflict: addressing the lissamphibian origin problem. - Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 5 (1): 69–122.- M. Ruta & M. I. Coates - 2007.



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