Herrothorax

Gerrothorax ( lat. Gerrothorax ) is a genus of extinct amphibians from the order dark -living, living during the Triassic period . It was covered with bone armor and reached about 1 meter in length.

† Herrothorax
Gerrothorax pulcherrimus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animals Type of: Chordate Grade: Amphibians Squad: † Dark-Sensory Suborder: † Stereoscopic Family: † Plagiosauridae Gender: † Herrothorax
Latin name
† Gerrothorax Nilsson, 1934
Single view
† Gerrothorax pulcherrimus (Fraas, 1913)

Herrothorax was an extremely flat creature, which probably helped him hide under the sand , in the silt of rivers or at the bottom of lakes, looking for a victim with the help of his wide eyes looking up. Gerrothorax had a skull of an unusual shape - with angular protrusions on the sides. This structure was somewhat similar to the structure of the skull of an earlier amphibian - diplocaulus , but less pronounced. Its jaws had a number of sharp teeth, and there were large fangs in the larynx, probably serving to hold slippery fish.

The skeleton of herrothorax was also unusual, especially the joint connecting the skull and the first cervical vertebra. Gerrothorax could raise its head relative to the lower jaw by an angle of up to 50 °, which is very unusual for the species that exists today. All of them, to inflict a bite, lower the lower jaw. Probably, this structure of the skull in herrothorax is an adaptation to ambush bottom hunting ^[1] . Fossils demonstrate that gerrothorax was pedomorphic , retaining its larval gills in adults as well. This is also observed in some modern caudate amphibians , such as protea and axolotls . Herrothorax had three pairs of external gills and used them to breathe underwater. Gerrothorax does not currently have any direct descendants. The creature disappeared along with many other species during the mass extinction at the end of the Triassic period , about 200 million years ago. The fossilized remains of Herrothorax are found in various regions of the Earth - in Greenland , Western Europe and Scandinavia . This suggests that its structure was quite successful. This ancient amphibian was distinguished from others by cirrus gills, which persisted throughout life. Usually only larvae (tadpoles) breathe with their help, and in an adult animal they are replaced by lungs. However, herrothorax in its general form resembled a huge flattened tadpole. Obviously, he did not go to land. Close-set eyes were on the upper side of the broad head. He seemed to be hiding at the bottom, looking up to throw himself at a fish that came close enough.