Diadectes (Emiliano Troco)

First image is a beautiful illustration by Emiliano Troco of the Bromacker bogs with a Diadectes (crosswise-biter) walking between some Walchia - a conifer, cypress-like genus that lived in the Carboniferous (Upper Pennsylvanian) to lower Permian  (310-290 MYA) rocks of Europe and North America. Diadectes was named by Edward Drinker Cope in 1878, with five species identified; D. sideropelicus (type, Cope, 1878), D. lentus (Marsh, 1878), D. tenuitectus (Cope, 1896), D. carinatus (Case and Williston, 1912) and D. absitus (Berman, 1998). Remains are found in Texas, USA, concentration in the Texas Red Beds and Clear Fork. It lived during the Early Permian Period (Artinskian - Kungurian Ages 290 - 272 MYA), with many specimens known allowing for accurate reconstruction. A heavily built animal ranging from 1.5 - 3 meters (5 - 10 feet) long. Classified as Amphibia, Reptiliomorpha, Diadectomorpha and Diadectidae.

Othniel Charles Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope, the two central players of the ‘bone wars’, both discovered and named Diadectes. Marsh named his Nothodon while five days later Cope released the name Diadectes. Now technically, Nothodon would have precedence but in a twist, when they were synonymized in 1912 Diadectes was given precedence. This is against the standard practice of ICZN (International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature) rules that state that the first name should be used. One interesting thing about Diadectes that must be realised is that it represents the earliest known amphibian to be herbivorous. It had a particularly large skeleton to accommodate an extended intestinal system so that it could digest plant material. It contains peg like teeth at the front that would have been especially efficient for stripping the leaves off ferns, it also had flat molar teeth for grinding the plant material. The skull also has a partial second palate study of which suggests that this would have allowed Diadectes to breathe while it chewed its food. An ability that even some more advanced reptiles were unable to do. Second image is a mounted skeleton of D. sideropelicus at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

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