Labidosaurikos

Labidosaurikos was a large herbivorous tetrapod. Its skull was anapsid (lacking temporal fenestrae) and heavily ornamented, with a hooked snout characteristic of all captorhinids. although the nasal is slightly broader than those of most other captorhinids and extends ventrolaterally slightly more than half-way down the snout. Each one of the parietals is bowed parasaggitally and overlaps sutures of several skull roof elements. When examining these overlapping skull roof elements and the dorsal portion of the skull as a whole there is significant dermal sculpturing. Large pits surround the post parietal suture and are deeper than all other pits that occur on the skull. Palate and dentition The palate of Labidosaurikos shares a general resemblance to the captorhinid pattern however; there are some specializations that come with the presence of multiple rows of teeth. Some of these features include transverse constriction of the palate by medially expanding tooth laminae of the maxillae and the loss of teeth from the palatine and anterior process of the pterygoid. The vomer is exceptionally slender, long and smoothly convex anteriorly which is a trait shared by Moradisaurus. The anteroventrally directed premaxillae which contain five long premaxillary teeth that decrease in size posteriorly as is the case in other captorhinids. The maxilla is greatly enlarged medially this constricts the palate and forms a tooth plate that accommodates the 6 parallel rows of teeth. Teeth that occur in the maxilla have been considered isodonts. The lateral surface of the maxilla presents a lateral flexion that is a characteristic cheek swelling seen in the single rowed Labidosaurus, Captorhinus aguti and other multi rowed genus. In addition the septomaxilla is characteristic of the family group, however it sports a sculptured postero-dorsal process extending onto the skull roof to insert between lacrimal and nasal. Much like expansion in the maxillae the dentaries expand transversely on the alveolar accommodate multiple rows of teeth. These 6 rows conical peg like teeth occur on medially expanded on both maxillae and dentaries. ==Paeloenviornmental information and paleobiology==

Environment Labidosaurikos specimens have been found in Permian red beds of North American. The alternative sedimentation indicates the environment Labidosaurikos inhabited were the margins of the aquatic reservoirs that were plentiful in these areas during early Permian time Morphology of the dentition shows the tooth plate teeth are relatively small isodonts and have wear facets usually characteristic of grinding. However this would require propalinal jaw motion. Striations on the wear facets of the teeth can normally be used to determine jaw motion however they are not present on Labidosaurikos was secondary non-dental evidence is required. The ability of the quadrate to slide antero-posteriorly over the articular propaliny however the holotype skull provided by Stovall had damaged the articulating surface. Propaliny is evident two other captorhinids, one called Moradisaurus shares membership in the subfamily Moradisaurinae with Labidosaurikos. The morphology of the articular for Moradisaurus does indicate Labidosaurikos may have been capable of propaliny because articular fragments show great similarity to Moradisaurus than more basal captorhinids. Other osteological evidence for herbivorous feeding via propaliny in Labidosaurikos is vaulted skull roof, a feature that is significantly different from Labidosaurus, Captorhinus, and other more basal captorhinids. This feature is reflected by a posterior expansion of the occipital flange of the squamosal, suggesting muscle fibers originate in the mandible. These muscle fibers would insert into the coronoid process at an angle of 45 degrees to horizontal forming an arrangement that supports the lower jaw being drawn posteriorly thus enabling propaliny. ==Discovery and classification==

The first Labidosaurikos skull was discovered around 1939 in Hennessey shale in Crescent Oklahoma and was presented to John. W Stovall, however he did not name or introduce it to paleontology until 1950 due to his own sickness. In 1988 R.L Carol designated parent taxa as identified as Captorhinidae. The classification of Labidosaurikos has had some discrepancy based on the debate of multiple rowed teeth having evolved once or twice independently in captorhinids. More derived captorhinids are usually larger than the more basal groups New cladistics analysis given this information supported the hypothesis that origin of multiple-tooth-rows in Captorhinidae is diphyletic and that Labidosaurikos is more closely related to single row Labidosaurus than Captorhinus aguti. ==References==