page_title: Vale Formation
hierarchical_section_title: Vale Formation
caption_attribution_description: Diplocaulus magnicornis Cope, 1882 skull from the Lower Permian of Baylor County, northern Texas, USA (“UC 637”, ex-University of Chicago, now housed at the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois, USA). This fossil amphibian is remarkable for its long, bony, posterolateral extensions of the skull. Diplocaulus has been interpreted as an entirely aquatic amphibian. The oddly-shaped skull was apparently used, when tilted, to help the creature surface rapidly while swimming. The skull shape also acts to prevent predators from consuming Diplocaulus whole. In the 1960s, a remarkable concentration of hundreds of Diplocaulus remains was collected from a single locality in the Permian Vale Formation of Texas, USA, representing a drought-concentration of animals in an ancient, dried-out river channel (see Dalquest &amp; Mamay, 1963 - Journal of Geology 71: 641-644). Classification: Animalia, Chordata, Vertebrata, Amphibia, Lepospondyli, Nectridea, Keraterpetontidae
context_page_description: The Vale Formation is a geologic formation in Texas. It preserves fossils dating back to the Permian period.
context_section_description: The Vale Formation is a geologic formation in Texas. It preserves fossils dating back to the Permian period.
caption: Fossil from the Vale Formation
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon PowerShot D10", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "180", "Image YResolution": "180", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS2 Macintosh", "Image DateTime": "2014:09:24 14:25:28", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "272", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1194", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "5073", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/60", "EXIF FNumber": "16/5", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "250", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2010:08:21 17:15:46", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2010:08:21 17:15:46", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "3", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "189/32", "EXIF ApertureValue": "107/32", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "107/32", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash fired, compulsory flash mode, red-eye reduction mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "1659/200", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2344", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1812", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "Interoperability RelatedImageWidth": "4000", "Interoperability RelatedImageLength": "3000", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "1044", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "4000000/243", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "1500000/91", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}