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labyrinthodont
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Illustration of the extinct amphibian Eryops, showing a robust, crocodile-like body with textured greenish skin, short legs, and a large head with visible teeth. An inset provides a top view of the head.
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Eryops
Eryops Eryops, a large stout amphibian from the Carboniferous Period.

labyrinthodont

anatomy
Written by
Kevin Padian
Professor, Curator, University of California, Berkeley Museum of Paleontology. Editor of Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs.
Kevin Padian
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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History

labyrinthodont, a type of tooth made up of infolded enamel that provides a grooved and strongly reinforced structure. This tooth type was common in the true amphibians of the Paleozoic Era, some lobe-finned fishes closely related to tetrapods, and in the early anthracosaurs—which were tetrapods closely related to the amniotes.

Labyrinthodont is also an archaic name for any member of the subclass Labyrinthodontia, an extinct group that served as a precursor to the amphibians. Labyrinthodonts lived during Carboniferous and Permian times (about 359–251 million years ago) and may well have included the ancestors of all terrestrial vertebrates.

Kevin Padian