Crassigyrinus is an amphibian from the Mississippian of the United Kingdom. It was named in 1929 by David Meredith Seares Watson. It was a strange amphibian, as it chose aquatic life over terrestrial life; in fact, there is some doubt that it is even an amphibian.
Physiology[]
Crassigyrinus was a unique animal. It was a fish-like animal with 4 short, stubby legs, a long tail similar to that of a tadpole, a thin, long body, and a big head with big jaws. Its body would have been covered in scaly skin.
Diet[]
Crassigyrinus was a predator, preying on small fish. Its jaws had 2 rows of teeth (one of which had a pair of fangs), which were designed for biting into fish and crushing them.
Ecology[]
Unlike most amphibians, which were capable of both swimming in water and crawling into the land, Crassigyrinus was completely aquatic, swimming around in rivers and freshwater lakes. One feature that indicates this is the extreme shortness of the legs, which would have done no good for crawling onto land, and would only be used for traversing underwater obstacles and latching onto mates during the mating process. Its eyes were big, which probably suggests that the animal hunted at night or in deep waters. Instead of swimming around and chasing prey, Crassigyrinus would have been an ambush hunter, lurking near underwater plants and waiting for prey to come by; once they did, it would speed toward them and bite them.
In popular culture[]
Crassigyrinus was featured in the 5th episode of the 2006 TV series Prehistoric Park, where it was featured as a freshwater hunter that swam around in the Carboniferous swamps. As well as this, it bites Nigel Marven in the ankle (without him knowing), and when he finally finds it, he realizes he has to let it go, as he has no way to transport it safely.