Thornsail

Edaphosaurus, meaning "pavement lizard" in Ancient Greek for dense clusters of teeth.

Edaphosaurus species measured from 0.5 to 3.5 metres (1.6 to 11.5 ft) in length and weighed over 300 kg (660 lb). In keeping with its tiny head, the cervical vertebrae are reduced in length, while the dorsal vertebrae are massive, the tail is deep, the limbs are short and robust, and the ribs form a wide ribcage.

The head of Edaphosaurus was short, relatively broad, triangular in outline, and remarkably small compared to its body size. The deep lower jaw likely had powerful muscles and the marginal teeth along the front and sides of its jaws had serrated tips, helping Edaphosaurus to crop bite-sized pieces from tough terrestrial plants. Back parts of the roof of the mouth and the inside of the lower jaw held dense batteries of peglike teeth, forming a broad crushing and grinding surface on each side above and below. Its jaw movements were propalinal (front to back). Early descriptions suggested that Edaphosaurus fed on invertebrates such as mollusks, which it would have crushed with its tooth plates.

The sail along the back of Edaphosaurus was supported by hugely elongated neural spines from neck to lumbar region, connected by tissue in life. When compared with the sail of Dimetrodon, the vertebral spines are shorter and heavier, and bear numerous small crossbars. Edaphosaurus and other members of the Edaphosauridae evolved tall dorsal sails independently of sail-back members of the Sphenacodontidae such as Dimetrodon and Secodontosaurus that lived at the same time, an unusual example of parallel evolution. The function(s) of the sail in both groups is still debated.

In order to more effectively cool the surface of the sail and control body temperature, the bony projections on the Edaphosaurus spines were exposed. It has long been believed that a single Dimetrodon or sailfin synapsid can only provide around 90 degrees of hypothermal and hyperthermal insulation, and that this insulation degrades over distance with a range similar to that of an air conditioner. But it was found that the insulation offered by higher-leveled sailfin synapsids got better and better.

The strange appearance of Edaphosaurus with its distinctive dorsal sail composed of tall spines studded with bony knobs has made it a popular subject for scientific reconstructions and paleoart in museums and in books. However, confusion over the animal's skull dating back to Cope's ideas about "Naosaurus" and over other details led to a long history of scientific and artistic errors that lasted in some cases into the 1940s. The correct scientific name Edaphosaurus (rather than "Naosaurus") also was not used consistently until the 1940s.

Oddly enough, though, the evidence points to the late Carboniferous Edaphosaurus having been a herbivore and Dimetrodon a carnivore, which has led some experts (and TV producers) to speculate that Dimetrodon regularly had big, heaping portions of Edaphosaurus for lunch!

When left alone, the Edaphosaurus poses no threat and is easily avoidable or slain when necessary.

The first fossils of Edaphosaurus came from the Texas Red Beds in North America, with later finds in New Mexico, Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Ohio. Fragmentary fossils attributed to Edaphosaurus have also been found in eastern Germany in Central Europe.

• Movement Pattern: Initially Migrant

• Individual Type: Solo, later gather

• Population Trend: Stable

• Population: ???

• Locomotion: Amphibious

• Habitat: Subtropical Coniferous Forests; Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests; Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests; Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands; Salt Flats; Stone Forest; Tropical Coniferous Forests; Tropical Moist Broadleaf Forests; Tropical Dry Broadleaf Forests; Tropical Grasslands; Tropical Savannas and Shrublands; Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub; Mushroom Forests; Mushroom Fields; Deserts and Xeric Shrublands; Badlands; Flooded Grasslands and Savannas; Swamp; Bayous/Billabongs; Riparian.

• Earth: 

  • Extinct: Germany; Poland; United States (Nevada; New Mexico; Oklahoma; West Virginia; Ohio; Texas)

An Edaphosaurus has a low base health, therefore it is simple to kill one before you can knock it out. Use low damage knockout techniques while attempting to tame this animal.

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• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edaphosaurus

• https://knuthenborg.dk/en/edaphosaurus/

• https://www.thoughtco.com/overview-of-edaphosaurus-1093490

• https://walkingwith.fandom.com/wiki/Edaphosaurus

• http://palaeos.com/vertebrates/synapsida/edaphosauridae2.html

• https://www.deviantart.com/ognimdo2002/art/Edaphosaurus-cruciger-962730237