Scapanops fossil map
Where fossils of Scapanops have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 300 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 300 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 | Early tetrapods & amphibians |
|---|---|
| Lived | 298.9–293.52 million years ago (Asselian) |
| Periods | Permian |
| Family | Dissorophidae |
| Named by | Schoch and Sues 2013 |
| Fossil records | 1 occurrences at 1 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | United States |
| Rock formations | Nocona |
About Scapanops
Scapanops is an extinct genus of dissorophid temnospondyl amphibian known from the Early Permian Nocona Formation of north-central Texas, United States. It contains only the type species Scapanops neglecta, which was named by Rainer R. Schoch and Hans-Dieter Sues in 2013. Scapanops differs from other dissorophids in having a very small skull table, which means that its eye sockets are unusually close to the back of the skull. The eye sockets are also very large and spaced far apart. Scapanops was probably small-bodied (around 25 to 50 centimetres (9.8 to 19.7 in) long) with a proportionally large head and short trunk and tail. Like other dissorophids, it probably spent most of its life on land.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Scapanops (revision 1289933520), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q16758534.
