Spathicephalus

Spa-fe-sef-ah-lus.
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Liam Carter

Paleoanthropologist

Liam Carter explores the roots of humanity by studying early human fossils and artifacts. His ground-breaking work has provided a deeper understanding of our ancestors' lifestyles and social structures.

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Name

Spathicephalus.

Phonetic

Spa-fe-sef-ah-lus.

Named By

‭Watson - 1928. ‭

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Elpistostegalia,‭ ‬Stegocephalia,‭ ‬Stegocephalia,‭ ‬Spathicephalidae.

Diet

Piscivore.

Species

S.‭ ‬mirus‭

Size

Skull‭ ‬22‭ ‬centimetres long.

Known locations

Canada.‭ ‬Scotland.

Time Period

Carboniferous.

Fossil representation

‭Partial remains of several individuals.

In Depth

       Spathicephalus is a genus of early tetrapod that lived‭ ‬during the Carboniferous.‭ ‬Whereas most creatures of its kind had rounded snouts,‭ ‬Spathicephalus is notable for having a roughly square shaped snout when seen from above.‭ ‬The teeth of Spathicephalus are very small and densely packed together,‭ ‬leading to speculation that Spathicephalus may have fed upon aquatic invertebrates,‭ ‬filtering them from the water through their teeth.‭ ‬Analysis of the hyoid process of Spathicephalus suggests that Spathicephalus may have also been a suction feeder,‭ ‬creating sudden low pressure within its mouth to draw smaller aquatic organisms into its mouth.

Further reading

-‭ ‬A rhachitomous amphibian,‭ ‬Spathicephalus,‭ ‬from the Mississippian of Nova Scotia.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Breviora.‭ ‬157:‭ ‬1‭–‬9.‭ ‬-‭ ‬D.‭ ‬Baird‭ ‬-‭ ‬1962.

-‭ ‬The cranial morphology and relationships of the aberrant Carboniferous amphibian Spathicephalus mirus Watson.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.‭ ‬122:‭ ‬187.‭ ‬-‭ ‬E.‭ ‬H.‭ ‬Beaumont‭ & ‬T.‭ ‬R.‭ ‬Smithson‭ ‬-‭ ‬1998.

-‭ ‬A new Mississippian tetrapod from Fife,‭ ‬Scotland,‭ ‬and its environmental context‭”‬.‭ ‬Papers in Palaeontology.‭ ‬3‭ (‬4‭)‬:‭ ‬547‭–‬557.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Timothy R.‭ ‬Smithson,‭ ‬Michael A.‭ ‬E.‭ ‬Browne,‭ ‬Sarah J Davies,‭ ‬John E.‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Marshall,‭ ‬David Millward,‭ ‬Stig A.‭ ‬Walsh‭ & ‬Jennifer A.‭ ‬Clack‭ ‬2017.

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