Diplocaulus, meaning "double caul," is a beloved critter with a unique boomerang-shaped head! This meter-long amphibian was described by E. D. Cope in 1877, the first year of the famous "Bone War" between Cope and his colleage, O. C. Marsh. Today, little Diplocaulus is the subject of its own new "war" - some researchers speculate that its horns sported skin flaps that connect to its neck, giving it a wider silhouette. However, most people depict Diplocaulus without this connective tissue because no evidence for it has been found. Many hypotheses about the function of its boomerang-head have been put forward by paleontologists since its discovery. One study suggested that its odd head created lift, helping it to ascend and descend in the water. Diplocaulus inhabited the waterways of North America and Africa from the late Carboniferous to the Permian period. Fully aquatic, its diet likely consisted of small fish. Evidence shows that during the dry season, Diplocaulus likely went into estivation (a form of hibernation that takes place over the summer). Regardless, we know they dug burrows for shelter, due to a fossilized burrow of eight Diplocaulus curled into balls! In a vivid display of nature's brutality, this burrow was raided by the famous Permian carnivore Dimetrodon, who killed and partially ate three juveniles.