page_title: Eryops
hierarchical_section_title: Eryops
caption_attribution_description: Eryops fossil specimen and tadpole (formerly known as Pelosaurus) in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA.
context_page_description: Eryops is a genus of extinct, semi-aquatic temnospondyl.
  They are found mostly in the Lower Permian-aged red beds of Texas. Fossils are also found in New Mexico and parts of the eastern United States. Eryops also occurs in older Pennsylvanian strata of the Conemaugh Group in West Virginia
  Eryops averaged a little over 1.5-2.0 meters long, so it was one of the largest land animals of its time. It weighed about 90 kilograms. It probably had few predators, although the apex predator of the time was the synapsid Dimetrodon, which was even larger. Several complete skeletons of Eryops have been found in the Lower Permian, but skull bones and teeth are the most common fossils.
  Eryops was better adapted to a terrestrial environment than its ancestors. Sturdy limbs and a strong spine supported the body while out of water.
context_section_description: Eryops  is a genus of extinct, semi-aquatic temnospondyl.
  They are found mostly in the Lower Permian-aged (about 295 million years ago) red beds of Texas. Fossils are also found in New Mexico and parts of the eastern United States. Eryops also occurs in older Pennsylvanian strata of the Conemaugh Group in West Virginia 
  Eryops averaged a little over 1.5-2.0 meters (5–6.5 ft) long, so it was one of the largest land animals of its time.  It weighed about 90 kilograms (200 lb). It probably had few predators, although the apex predator of the time was the synapsid Dimetrodon, which was even larger. Several complete skeletons of Eryops have been found in the Lower Permian, but skull bones and teeth are the most common fossils.
  Eryops was better adapted to a terrestrial environment than its ancestors. Sturdy limbs and a strong spine supported the body while out of water.
caption: Eryops, side view
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