3.14 Diplocaulus sp.
This is the skull of a nectridean. These strange early tetrapods lived during the Late Carboniferous and Early Permian. Note the way the skull is dorsoventrally flattened and possesses large prong-like horns from the posterolateral corners. These animals may have lurked at the bottom of rivers and lakes, waiting for prey to swim over them. Then, using a powerful tail and lift generated by water passing over the wing-like horns, they may have attacked the prey from below.
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