Proterogyrinus pancheni

Proterogyrinus was an extinct genus of early tetrapods from the order Embolomeri. Fossils have been found in Scotland, UK, and West Virginia, United States and date back to the Serpukhovian from about 331-323 million years ago. The genus was originally named by renowned vertebrate paleontologist Alfred Sherwood Romer in 1970. A comprehensive redescription was later published by Canadian paleontologist Robert Holmes in 1984. The generic name "Proterogyrinus" is Greek for "earlier wanderer" or "earlier tadpole". This name was chosen by Romer in keeping with a trend of naming long-bodied early tetrapods with the suffix "-gyrinus".
 * Proterogyrinus had a build that reflected its relations and evolution. It was a lizard-like animal with 4 legs, a long, broad, fin-less tail, a broad body, and a long head with big jaws. Its body would have been covered in scaly skin.


 * Proterogyrinus was a predator, preying on fish, mid-sized arthropods, reptiles, and smaller amphibians. Its jaws had sharp teeth designed for catching large animals, as well as for crushing them.