Kennedy Balderas

English 363
2/26/17

Synapsids

Taxonomy

A “synapsid”, or “synapsida” is any species of vertebrae organism which exhibits trait

akin to those found in mammals including multi-specialized teeth and a singular temporal

fenestra. The name “synapsid” derives from Greek words “fused arch” and is indicative of the

skull’s feature hole behind the eye socket. In addition, synapsids are also synonymous with the

name “Therapsid” (translating to “beast face” in Greek), though this name is outdated and

generally unused within taxonomy and paleontology. In regards to taxonomy (the classification

of animal species into groups), synapsids are included in the groups of animals known as

tetrapods (species which arose from a common fish ancestor and all have 4 limbs in some form)

and amniotes (species that

are capable of birthing

outside of water). Included

within synapsids are

mammals which give live

birth, marsupials,

monotriomes (egg laying

mammals), as well as
Figure 1. A phylogenic tree (a chart describing the relationship of species) of Synapsids in
regards to the rest of Tetrapods. [6] various extinct offshoots.

Distinctive Features

There are several key features to the classification of synapsids and their separation from

their sister groups of diapsids and anapsids. One of the primary features that separates the three
groups is the presence of a singular opening on the skull behind the eye. This opening is known

as a “temporal fenestra” and creates the formation of a distinct arch on the skull that allows for

the specialized attachment of muscles to the lower jaw [2]. This allowed for said jaw to be made

of a single mass of bone as well as allowed for much stronger jaws. In contrast, diapsids have

two opening in their skull behind their eye sockets while anapsids lack any form of opening, and

both have lower jaws that are made up of multiple fused parts and thus allow for less muscle

attachment.

Another key feature is that of their teeth, as

synapsids, especially those later evolved, are found to

have several types of teeth. They can be broken down into

three groups: molars for grinding, canines for impaling,

and incisors for slicing [3]. Aided by the strength of

powerful jaw muscles, the different teeth types allow for

Figure 2: Skull of an early synapsid, showing
the breaking down of different foods via chewing, multiple teeth types, temporal fenestra, and
singular mandible. Po is the postorbital, Sq is
squamosal, and J is Jubal, all pieces of the
granting many species a much more varied diets. skull which come together to create the
fenestra. [3]
Additionally, synapsid teeth are usually found

embedded within the bone of the mandible, only being replaced on rare occasion. This contrasts

to diapsids and anapsids, which have a continually replacing set of teeth made for strict diets.

There are some exceptions to these key features however. Certain synapsid species,

notably more modern species of apes including humans, have evolved a bony covering over the

temporal fenestra in order to accommodate for jaws and the brain creating the appearance of a

lack of an opening. In addition, some non-synapsid species such as snakes, have lost one of their
fenestra holes on their skull, giving the appearance of a synapsid like skull. However, these

exceptions are generally worked around due to reliance on other classifying traits.

Evolution

Synapsids began to appear on Earth at about the late Carboniferous era (from about 358.9

to 398.9 million years ago or MYA) supposedly around the equatorial regions, with the earliest

verifiable species being described a lizard-like creature called Archaeothyris from what is now

Nova Scotia[3]. By the end of the Carboniferous they had completely separated from the

reptilian forerunners, despite having looked very similar to large lizards. It would be around the

Permian period from around 398.9 to 251.9 MYA, where synapsids would become extremely

successful, taking on

a variety of different

niches as they

evolved to adapt to

climates beyond the

equator, notably by

becoming

endothermic (having the Figure 3. Disregarding the caption of "mammal-like reptiles" these were a number of
early synapsids that later gave rise to mammals. This includes famous species such as
Dimetrodon and Gorgonopsid. [5]
ability to regulate their

body temperatures)[3].

These very basal forms of synapsids are frequently colloquially referred to as “mammal-

like reptiles” for their traits that seem to reflect being both mammalian and reptilian. This name
is a misnomer as, previously mentioned, they were no longer true reptiles at this point in time

and could be more specifically called Pelycosaurs (Greek for “axe/bowl lizards”). These

Pelycosaurs gave rise to many groups of species, including early synapsids, which would

dominate the landscape for the rest of the Permian. At the end of this period however, the earth

went through a massive extinction event known as the “Permian-Triassic Extinction event”, in

which a massive percentage of the Earth’s species died off due to drastic climate change and

increased volcanic activity, including a majority of the then thriving synapsids. As a result, only

the smallest of the synapsids would go on to survive on through to the Mesozoic from 252 to 65

MYA. This small group would be the Cynodontids, which resembled small rodents and thrived

as small predators. However, these survivors would be prevented from reaching the same level of

success as the Permian for this era due to extreme competition from the much more successful

dinosaurs and flying/aquatic reptiles. This would change by the next big extinction 65 MYA

known as the K-T Event, where a combination of climate change of the approaching ice age and

meteor collisions wiped out the dinosaurs, once again allowing synapsids to fill in the vacated

niches left.

Now entering the Cenozoic period, synapsids began to compete with remaining diapsids,

notably crocodiles, snakes, and birds, for control over resources and would ultimately come out

successful. They would spread across the continents and evolve into the new megafauna seen

during the period colloquially known as the Ice Age, including early whales and horses, rodents,

canines and felines, pachyderms such as the wooly mammoth, and many others. The most

notable of these would be the primate, having evolved from arboreal (tree dwelling) rodents.

From here, these primates would eventually evolve into Cro Magnon, or a primitive species of

humans. Around this period however, climate change would once again wipe much of the
megafauna out by the time the Holocene is reached at around 11,000 years ago, and most of the

synapsid species that can be seen today have finally come to evolve, including humans. Today,

while synapsids may only roughly 1% of the earth’s species, being vastly outnumbered by

invertebrate species, they inhabit almost every ecosystem and new species are continuing to be

discovered yearly.
 Citations

[1]. Voigt, S., & Ganzelewski, M. (2009). Toward the origin of amniotes; diadectomorph and

synapsid footprints from the early Late Carboniferous of Germany. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 55(1),

57-72.

[2]. Goffinet, A. (2017). The evolution of cortical development: The synapsid-diapsid divergence.

Development (Cambridge, England), 144(22), 4061-4077.

[3]. Chinsamy-Turan, A. (2012). Forerunners of mammals: Radiation, histology, biology (Life of

the Past). Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

[4]. Laurin, Michel and Robert R. Reisz. 2011. Synapsida. Mammals and their extinct relatives.

Version 14 August 2011. http://tolweb.org/Synapsida/14845/2011.08.14 in The Tree of Life Web

Project, http://tolweb.org/

[5]. http://morgana249.blogspot.com/2014/08/5-ancient-mammal-like-reptiles.html

[6]. Angielczyk, K. D. 2009. Dimetrodon is not a dinosaur: using tree thinking to understand the

ancient relatives of mammals and their evolution. Evolution: Education and Outreach 2: 257-271.

[7]. https://www.fieldmuseum.org/fossil-non-mammalian-synapsid-collection-field-museum
Review

For this definition, I tried to utilize sentence definitions in the beginning as well as near the end

with some of the more complicated definitions. In addition, I also used parenthetical definitions.

Finally, I used 2 diagrams to help give the reader a visualization of synapsid skulls as well as

their relationships to other species.