Edaphosaurus fossil map
Where fossils of Edaphosaurus have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 275 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 275 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Pre-mammals (synapsids) |
|---|---|
| Lived | 303.7–274.4 million years ago (Gzhelian to Kungurian) |
| Periods | Carboniferous, Permian |
| Family | Edaphosauridae |
| Named by | Cope 1882 |
| Fossil records | 39 occurrences at 36 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | United States, Germany |
| Rock formations | Arroyo, Nocona, txn:38910, Pittsburgh, Archer City, Admiral |
About Edaphosaurus
Edaphosaurus (, meaning "pavement lizard" for the dense clusters of its teeth) is a genus of extinct edaphosaurid synapsids that lived in what is now North America and Europe around 303.4 to 272.5 million years ago, during the Late Carboniferous to Early Permian. The American paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope first described Edaphosaurus in 1882, naming it for the "dental pavement" on both the upper and lower jaws, from the Greek edaphos έδαφος ("ground"; also "pavement") and σαῦρος (sauros) ("lizard").
Edaphosaurus is important as one of the earliest-known, large, plant-eating (herbivorous), amniote tetrapods (four-legged land-living vertebrates). In addition to the large tooth plates in its jaws, the most characteristic feature of Edaphosaurus is a neural spine sail on its back. A number of other synapsids from the same time period also have tall dorsal sails, most famously the large apex predator Dimetrodon. However, the sail on Edaphosaurus is different in shape and morphology. 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.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Edaphosaurus (revision 1378679618), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 22 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in.
