Permian Amphibians

Amphibians are creatures that originate in water. It will undergo metamorphosis and turn into land animals. The first amphibian was thought to have live more than 350 million years ago.

The Diplocaulus, an early amphibian, stands for “Double Stalk” in Greek. It is believed that the Diplocaulus roamed in swamps around the Texas area of the U.S.A, around 260 to 250 million years ago. It has the head of a Hammerhead and the body of a regular Lizard. Not only did it use its head to navigate currents easier it was a defense mechanism against late Permian predators. Weighing in at around 5-10 pounds the Diplocaulus large head was very important for its survival.

The next amphibian was discovered in Seymour, Texas, which would explain its name. The Seymouria with distinctive stocky legs, was an opportunistic hunter. It’s two foot long body feasted on fish, insects and small animals, around and inside swamps. Mistakenly the Seymouria was falsely classified as an Reptile in 1940. When in reality it is was a amphibian. The Seymouria thrived around 290 million years ago, which is the Early Permian era.

The eryops, a short looking chubby version of an alligator. The eryops would grow to be about 5 feet in size and about one and a half feet tall. The eryops was believed to have been very slow on land but fast and agile in the water. The eryops has a strong built spine to support its very large body. Its head was also flat and its eyes were facing upwards so it could see its predators easier. There has been evidence living in Texas hundreds of millions of years ago.

The Platyhystrix most famously known for its sail, would grow to be about three feet long and about 2 feet tall. It was believed that its sail was a “sexually selected characteristic” The diet of the Platyhystrix would consist of small animals. The sail was also believed to help cool it off because it was believed it had lived around Texas.




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