# Scapanops
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{{Short description|Extinct genus of amphibians}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = [Early Permian](/source/Early_Permian)
| image = Scapanops neglecta.jpg
| image_caption = [Life restoration](/source/Life_restoration)
| taxon = Scapanops
| authority = Schoch & Sues, [2013](/source/2013_in_paleontology)
| type_species = {{extinct}}'''''Scapanops neglecta'''''
| type_species_authority = Schoch & Sues, 2013
}}
'''''Scapanops''''' is an [extinct](/source/extinct) [genus](/source/genus) of [dissorophid](/source/dissorophid) [temnospondyl](/source/temnospondyl) amphibian known from the [Early Permian](/source/Early_Permian) [Nocona Formation](/source/Nocona_Formation) of north-central [Texas](/source/Texas), United States. It contains only the [type species](/source/type_species) '''''Scapanops neglecta''''', which was named by Rainer R. Schoch and Hans-Dieter Sues in [2013](/source/2013_in_paleontology). ''Scapanops'' differs from other dissorophids in having a very small [skull table](/source/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 {{convert|25|to|50|cm|in}} long) with a proportionally large head and short trunk and tail. Like other dissorophids, it probably spent most of its life on land.[{{Cite journal | last1 = Schoch | first1 = R. R. | last2 = Sues | first2 = H. D. | title = A new dissorophid temnospondyl from the Lower Permian of north-central Texas | doi = 10.1016/j.crpv.2013.04.002 | journal = Comptes Rendus Palevol | year = 2013 }}]
==Description==
The only known skull of ''Scapanops'' is {{convert|7.9|cm|in}} long. ''Scapanops'' is distinguished from other dissorophids by five unique features or [autapomorphies](/source/autapomorphies): a large spacing between the [orbits](/source/orbit_(anatomy)) or eye sockets, giving the skull an [oval](/source/oval)-shaped outline; a very small skull table behind the orbits; a long snout twice as long as the skull table and proportionally longer than that of any other dissorophid; a jaw joint (the [quadrate](/source/quadrate_bone) [condyle](/source/condyle)) positioned farther forward on the skull than it is in other dissorophids; and a [skull roof](/source/skull_roof) that is covered in small ridges, but not pits as in most other dissorophids. It shares several features ([synapomorphies](/source/synapomorphies)) with the dissorophids ''[Conjunctio](/source/Conjunctio)'' and ''[Cacops](/source/Cacops)'', including and bony plates called [osteoderm](/source/osteoderm)s that are fused to the [vertebra](/source/vertebra)e. The osteoderms form a single row along the back. ''Scapanops'' and ''Conjunctio'' both have numerous small teeth lining their jaws, suggesting that they ate small prey. Other closely related dissorophids have fewer and larger teeth, meaning that they probably ate larger prey.[
==Discovery==
''Scapanops'' is known from a single [holotype](/source/holotype) specimen from the Nocona Formation, which is part of the Early Permian [red beds of Texas](/source/Red_Beds_of_Texas_and_Oklahoma). It includes most of the skull as well as the [humerus](/source/humerus), [radius](/source/Radius_(bone)), and [clavicle](/source/clavicle) bones, which are preserved underneath the skull. Several vertebrae, ribs, and osteoderms are also known. The fossil, now housed in the [Museum of Comparative Zoology](/source/Museum_of_Comparative_Zoology) at Harvard University, was discovered by American paleontologist [Alfred Romer](/source/Alfred_Romer) on April 15, 1950 and was first mentioned in the scientific literature by paleontologist [Robert L. Carroll](/source/Robert_L._Carroll) in 1964. During this time it was thought to belong to the species ''[Conjunctio multidens](/source/Conjunctio_multidens)''. In 2013 the specimen was recognized to belong to a separate genus, which was named ''Scapanops'' after the spade-like shape of its skull (from the [Greek](/source/Greek_language) ''skapane''). The suffix -''ops'' is meant to associate it with the genus ''[Cacops](/source/Cacops)'', a closely related dissorophid. The specific name ''neglecta'' references the neglected status of the holotype specimen after its initial description in 1964.][
==Relationships==
A [phylogenetic](/source/phylogenetic) analysis of dissorophids published in 2013 found ''Scapanops'' to be one of the most [basal](/source/basal_(phylogenetics)) members of a [clade](/source/clade) called [Eucacopinae](/source/Eucacopinae). Eucacopines are characterized by their lightly built skeletons and knobby skulls. The most basal eucacopine was found to be ''Conjunctio'' while ''Scapanops'' was positioned close to a [derived](/source/Synapomorphy) clade of eucacopines that includes the genus ''[Cacops](/source/Cacops)'' (which is also from the Early Permian of the southwestern United States) and the Russian genera ''[Zygosaurus](/source/Zygosaurus)'' and ''[Kamacops](/source/Kamacops)''. While members of the derived eucacopine clade have two rows of osteoderms down their backs, ''Scapanops'' and ''Conjunctio'' have only a single row of osteoderms down their backs. A single row of osteoderms is thought to be the ancestral condition for the dissorophid clade including Eucacopinae and its [sister taxon](/source/sister_taxon) [Dissorophinae](/source/Dissorophinae). Like the derived eucacopines, dissorophines also have two rows of osteoderms, meaning that the feature evolved independently in both groups and that ''Scapanops'' represents the point in eucacopine evolution before the two rows of osteoderms appeared. Below is a [cladogram](/source/cladogram) from the 2013 analysis:][
{{clade| style=font-size:100%;line-height:100%
|label1=[Dissorophidae](/source/Dissorophidae)
|1={{clade
|1=''[Platyhystrix](/source/Platyhystrix)''
|label2=armored dissorophids
|2={{clade
|1=''[Aspidosaurus](/source/Aspidosaurus)''
|2={{clade
|label1=[Dissorophinae](/source/Dissorophinae)
|1={{clade
|1=''[Dissorophus](/source/Dissorophus)''
|2={{clade
|1=''[Broiliellus texensis](/source/Broiliellus_texensis)''
|2=''[Broiliellus brevis](/source/Broiliellus_brevis)''}} }}
|label2=[Eucacopinae](/source/Eucacopinae)
|2={{clade
|1=''[Conjunctio](/source/Conjunctio)''
|2={{clade
|1='''''Scapanops'''''
|label2=derived eucacopines
|2={{clade
|1=''[Cacops aspidephorus](/source/Cacops_aspidephorus)''
|2=''[Cacops morrisi](/source/Cacops_morrisi)''
|3=''[Cacops woehri](/source/Cacops_woehri)''
|4={{clade
|1=''[Kamacops](/source/Kamacops)''
|2=''[Zygosaurus](/source/Zygosaurus)''
}} }} }} }} }} }} }} }}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Euskelia|D.}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q16758534}}
Category:Dissorophidae
Category:Cisuralian temnospondyls of North America
Category:Permian geology of Texas
Category:Fossil taxa described in 2013
Category:Prehistoric amphibian genera
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Scapanops](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scapanops) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scapanops?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.
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