Stenokranio

Stenokranio (from the Greek στενός [stenos] for narrow and κρανίο [kranio] for skull) is a genus of eryopid temnospondyl from the Permo-Carboniferous Remigiusberg Formation of Germany. It is represented by the type species, Stenokranio boldi, which was named for two specimens collected from the Remigiusberg quarry near Kusel, Saar–Nahe Basin, southwest Germany.

== Description == The type and only species, S. boldi, is diagnosed by three autapomorphic features of the skull that differentiate it from all other eryopids: (1) the relatively narrow posterior skull table, therefore nearly parallel lateral margins of the skull; (2) the short postparietals and tabulars; and (3) the wide ectopterygoid. The two known skulls measure (holotype) and (paratype) and are thought to represent adult, though not fully mature, individuals. The holotype is represented by a nearly complete skull and mandibles, while the paratype is represented by a partial skull, mandible, and anterior postcrania. The holotype also preserves a few isolated bones associated with diadectomorphs and 'microsaurs,' although it is not clear that these represent consumed items. In general, the skulls preserve many of the features observed in other eryopids, such as a coarsely pitted ornamentation on the surface of the skull; prominent longitudinal ridges and some transverse ridges that frame depressions on the skull; and relatively thick cranial bones. The most distinctive feature of S. boldi is a proportionately narrow skull; rather than continually broadening posteriorly, the "cheek" (temporal) region of the skull in S. boldi is squared-off such that the margins run parallel to each other. It is differentiated from an isolated eryopid mandible previously reported from the site on the basis of tooth positions (48–50 in Stenokranio vs. 35–40 in the isolated mandible). The postcrania differ little from those previously described in the North American Eryops, which is the sister taxon of Stenokranio based upon phylogenetic analysis.