Platyhystrix

Systematik

Platyhystrix ("plah-tee-hiss-stricks", meaning "flat porcupine") was a temnospondyl amphibian with a distinctive sail along its back, similar to the unrelated synapsids, Dimetrodon and Edaphosaurus. It lived during the Permian period (290 to 270 million years ago), and has been found in Texas. It coexisted with other, larger temnospondyls like Eryops and may have been preyed upon by them, or larger carnivorous reptiles which were becoming more common and diverse in the drier climate of the Permian.

A salamander with a "sail"

Platyhystrix, measuring less than a meter, appeared rather unusual: the dorsal vertebrae were extraordinarily lengthened, and in life they probably formed a skin-covered sail. This structure perhaps served the function of thermal regulation, as other animals (such as the two pelycosaurs Dimetrodon and Edaphosaurus), that lived in the same environment were endowed with a similar “dorsal sail”. The back of the Platyhystrix had covered besides with thick hard plates, similar to that of its near relative, Cacops. The skull was large and strongly built, with a frog-like face. Platyhystrix had a compact body, and its short, sturdy legs indicate a mainly terrestrial life.

In popular culture

Platyhystrix makes an appearance at the very beginning of The Land Before Time.

References

• Vertebrate Palaeontology by Michael J. Benton and John Sibbick
• The Simon & Schuster Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Creatures: A Visual Who's Who of Prehistoric Life by Barry Cox, Colin Harrison, R.J.G. Savage, and Brian Gardiner
• Bibliography Of Fossil Vertebrates 1934-1938 by C. I. Camp