Where You Know Him From

Given the fact that Diplocaulus does not appear in many documentaries or other popular outlets, it seems somewhat odd that Diplocaulus is a popular animal. In part, the shape of its head has helped quite a bit, considering that it is extremely unique in not only the animal world but the salamander and amphibian world much more specifically. We have seen that Diplocaulus appears in many video games and its odd shape has been described many different times by many different people. Multiple descriptions may be part of the reason so many people know about the animal. It is probably, though, the fact that the fossils are relatively common, overall. We can all admit that it is the wonderfully weird shape of the head. The most interesting thing about the head of Diplocaulus is that it may have been used, in part, as a hydrofoil. That hypothesis is somewhat less popularly publicized, but whenever it does surface it is rather popular. In fact, those tabular horns, as they are more properly known anatomically, were widespread throughout the order Nectridea.