Edaphosauridae

Edaphosauridae Temporal range: Late Carboniferous to Early Permian, ~
Mounted skeleton of Edaphosaurus pogonias in the Field Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Clade:	Synapsida
Clade:	Sphenacomorpha
Family:	†Edaphosauridae Cope, 1882
Type species
†Edaphosaurus pogonias Cope, 1882
Genera
†Bohemiclavulus †Edaphosaurus †Gordodon †Glaucosaurus †Ianthasaurus †Lupeosaurus †Melanedaphodon †Ramodendron †Remigiomontanus †Xyrospondylus

Edaphosauridae is a family of mostly large (up to 3 m (9.8 ft) or more) Late Carboniferous to Early Permian synapsids. Edaphosaur fossils are so far known only from North America and Europe. Edaphosaurids transitioned from being small carnivores in their most primitive members into some of the earliest large terrestrial herbivores. They are noted for their neural spine sails on their backs, which unlike those of Dimetrodon exhibit distinctive outwards facing growths.