Oedaleops [SEP] parent taxon
Oedaleops
Oedaleops is an extinct genus of caseasaur synapsids from the Early Permian of the southwestern United States. Fossils have been found in the Cutler Formation in New Mexico, which dates back to the Wolfcampian stage of the Early Permian. All remains belong to the single known species Oedaleops campi. "Oedaleops" was closely related to "Eothyris", and both are part of the family Eothyrididae. Like "Eothyris", it was probably an insectivore.
Discovery.
"Oedaleops" was first described by paleontologist Wann Langston
Jr. in 1965 on the basis of a mostly complete skull (specimen UCMP 35758, the holotype of "Oedaleops") and a few isolated skull and postcranial fragments. The UCMP 35758 skull has been the sole specimen of "Oedaleops" used in most analyses of its evolutionary relationships. The more fragmentary specimens have been assigned to "Oedaleops" with caution because they are hard to distinguish from the bones of other Cutler Formation synapsids such as "Aerosaurus". Additional specimens of "Oedaleops" were described in 2013, including many