Eupelycosauria
| Eupelycosauria Temporal range: Pennsylvanian–Recent, Possible Bashkirian records. | |
|---|---|
| Edaphosaurus pogonias skeleton mounted at the Field Museum | |
| Cutleria wilmarthi | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Synapsida |
| Clade: | Eupelycosauria Kemp, 1982 |
| Subgroups | |
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Eupelycosauria is a large clade of animals characterized by the unique shape of their skull, encompassing all mammals and their closest extinct relatives. They first appeared 308 million years ago during the Early Pennsylvanian epoch, with the fossils of Echinerpeton and perhaps an even earlier genus, Protoclepsydrops, representing just one of the many stages in the evolution of mammals, in contrast to their earlier amniote ancestors.