Brachydectes

Brachydectes Temporal range: Carboniferous - Permian
Reconstructed skull of B. newberryi
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Order:	†Lysorophia
Family:	†Molgophidae
Genus:	†Brachydectes Cope, 1868
Type species
†Brachydectes newberryi Cope, 1868
Synonyms
Genus synonymy †Cocytinus? Cope, 1871 †Lysorophus? Cope, 1877 †Molgophis? Cope, 1868 †Pleuroptyx? Cope, 1875 Species synonymy †Brachydectes elongatus? Wellstead, 1991 †Cocytinus gyrinoides? Cope, 1871 †Lysorophus tricarinatus? Cope, 1877 †Molgophis brevicostatus? Cope, 1875 †Molgophis macrurus? Cope, 1868 †Pleuroptyx clavatus? Cope, 1875

Brachydectes is an extinct genus of lysorophian tetrapods that lived from the Late Carboniferous to the Early Permian. It had a very small head and long body, B. elongatus had 1–2 centimetres (0.39–0.79 in) long skull (averagely 1.4 centimetres (0.55 in)) and pre-sacral length up to 150 centimetres (59 in) (averagely 45 centimetres (18 in)), while B. newberryi, which have proportionally larger skull than B. elongatus, for specimen with 7.6 millimetres (0.30 in) skull roof had estimated total length of 11 centimetres (4.3 in), while the largest skull exceeds 3 centimetres (1.2 in).

References

• Gaining Ground: The Origin and Early Evolution of Tetrapods by Jennifer A. Clack
• Amniote Origins: Completing the Transition to Land by Stuart Sumida and Karen L.M Martin