3.15 Palaeoherpeton sp.

Anthracosaurs appear in the early Late Carboniferous as small-to-medium terrestrial forms. During the Late Carboniferous they gave rise to the large, elongate, embolomeres – crocodile-like creatures that ate fish and lived in the coal swamps. The last anthraosaurs are known from the Early Triassic of Russia.

These specimens are casts of the skull of an anthracosaur in dorsal and ventral views. Note that there is no sign of large palatal vacuities on the palatal surface (the roof of the mouth).

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