Article: A Lower Permian temnospondylous amphibian from the English Midlands

The holotype skull of Dasyceps bucklandi (Lloyd, 1850) from the Lower Permian (Autunian) Kenilworth Breccia is redescribed and its relationships with other members of the family Zatrachydidae are discussed. The two species of the American genus Zatrachys, the type species Z. serratus Cope, 1878 and Z. microphthalmus Cope, 1896 are considered. Z. microphthalmus is transferred to the genus Dasyceps as a new species D. microphthalmus, leaving Z. serratus as the only species of the genus Zatrachys. It is shown that Acanthostomatops Kuhn, 1961 is not the larval form of Dasyceps, but may instead be the larva of Z. serratus. It is suggested that Dasyceps was a terrestrial labyrinthodont, and a possible function for its enormous median nasal vacuity is put forward.