Fig. 6: Synapsid carnivore feeding functional subgroups through the late Palaeozoic.
From: Predatory synapsid ecomorphology signals growing dynamism of late Palaeozoic terrestrial ecosystems
a Relative abundance through time of different feeding functional (sub)groups. b Mean body sizes for each feeding functional subgroup through time. c Composition of each functional feeding group by functional subgroup and clade per time bin. Incorporates unsampled lineages using ancestral trait estimation of overall jaw shape and linear discriminant analysis for FFsG classification. Key geological events shown. Epochs are colour coded by period: Carboniferous (green), Permian (orange), and Triassic (purple). N = 122. ART Artinskian, ASL Asselian, BIA Biarmosuchia, CAP Capitanian, CHX Changhsingian, CYN Cynodontia, DIN Dinocephalia, DSS Deep shearing specialist, ECE End-Capitanian extinction, EOT Eothyrididae and assorted Casesauria, ET Early Triassic, FFsG feeding functional subgroup, FG forceful gripper, GG gracile gripper, GRA grip and rip attacker, GRG Gorgonopsia, GZH Gzhelian, IND Induan, KAS Kasimovian, KUN Kungurian, OE Olson’s extinction, OPH Ophiacodontidae, PBS Power bite specialist, Penn Pennsylvanian, PTME Permo-Triassic mass extinction, RLA Rapid light attacker, ROA Roadian, SAK Sakmarian, SBS Shearing bite specialist, SPH Sphenacodontia (non-therapsid), THR Therocephalia, VAR Varanopidae, WOR Wordian, WUC Wuchiapingian. Biarmosuchia, Dinocephalia and Therocephalia silhouettes by Dmitry Bogdanov (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey); all other silhouettes created by S.A.S., but some are vectorised from artwork by Felipe Alves Elias (https://www.paleozoobr.com/), available for academic use with attribution.
