ERYOPS

genus of extinct primitive amphibians found as fossils in Permian rocks in North America (the Permian period occurred from 286 to 245 million years ago). Eryops was a massive animal more than 2 m (6 feet) long. Its large skull had thick and uneven bones, with wrinkles. The eye sockets were large and directed upward. Large and pointed teeth grew along the margins of the jaws and on the palate. The strength and size of the vertebral column and the skeletal limb elements indicate that Eryops was well suited to moving about on land. Although short, the limbs were very broad, and the shoulder and hip girdles were massive. The skin bore bony nodules that probably provided a sort of protective armour against predators. Eryops was a predator that subsisted to a large extent upon fish, although it probably preyed upon land vertebrates as well.