Early Permian

Ryan Formation

Jefferson County, Oklahoma, USA

Very fine 0.55 inch claw. Rare!

Amphibian.

Eryops is a genus of amphibian of the Order Temnospondyli and one of the largest amphibians (5-10 feet long) of the Permian Period.  Its well-ossified skeleton and large limbs are indicators that it had a more terrestrial lifestyle than other contemporary and even many Mesozoic amphibians.  In that way it was quite advanced for its time.

Temnospondyls survived the end-Permian extinction even as most other amphibians disappeared and survived into the Cretaceous.