Early synapsid — Ophiacodon uniformis

Geologic period: Early Permian

Age: Approximately 286 to 284 million years ago for the Smithsonian Deep Time specimen.

Feeding: Predatory feeding is inferred from skull and tooth anatomy rather than directly observed behavior.

Locomotion: Terrestrial quadrupedal locomotion.

Body plan: Long-bodied quadrupedal early synapsid with a relatively large skull and sprawling limbs.

Evidence: Skeleton, skull and teeth provide direct anatomical evidence. Diet and behavior are reconstructed from anatomy.

Why it matters: Ophiacodon helps introduce the synapsid lineage—the great evolutionary branch that eventually includes mammals.

Plain Language Identity: An Early Permian synapsid from the branch of vertebrate evolution more closely related to mammals than to dinosaurs or modern reptiles.

What You Are Looking At: A fossil skeleton of Ophiacodon uniformis. Smithsonian notes that rapid burial preserved the individual in its death pose.

Ecosystem: Early Permian terrestrial ecosystem of what is now Texas.

Preservation: Articulated or associated skeletal fossil.

Find Location: Texas, United States.

Open Questions: Do not call Ophiacodon a dinosaur. Dinosaurs had not yet evolved, and Ophiacodon belongs to Synapsida.

Source Urls: https://naturalhistory.si.edu/visit/virtual-tour/current-exhibits/deep-time-virtual-tour-fossil-list; https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/factsheets/david-h-koch-hall-fossils-deep-time

Enrichment Method: SAGE curated research pass; title and scientific name matched; current research distinctions retained; evidence separated from inference

Scientific name: Ophiacodon uniformis

Evidence / representation: comparative_taxon_visual

comparative_taxon_visual

The Permian World: Strange Bodies and the Great Dying.

Media license: CC BY-SA 3.0

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0