Cacops ("ugly look" for its strange appearance), is a genus of dissorophid temnospondyls from the Kungurian stage of the early Permian of the United States.

[1] New material collected from the Dolese Brothers Quarry, near Richards Spur, Oklahoma in the past few decades has been recovered, painting a clearer picture of what the animal looked and acted like.

[1] Over 50 specimens have been found in the Cacops Bone Bed in Baylor County, Texas,[1] which is now flooded by the dammed Lake Kemp.

[3] Trematopsis seltini from the Vale Formation of Texas was originally described as a trematopid by Olson (1956)[7] but was later synonymized with Cacops aspidephorus by Milner (1985).

[5] Cacops morrisi has a skull that differs from C. aspidephorus in having a snout that is slightly longer than its post-orbital region, a shorter distance between the orbit and the temporal emargination, and uncinate processes of the ribs.

[2][4] Cacops woehri differs from C. aspidephorus and C. morrisi in many attributes, including a more shallow skull, more dorsally located orbits, and a narrow opening of its tympanic embayment.

[1] He noted: "The creature as mounted presents an almost absurd appearance, with its large head and pectoral region, absence of neck, and short tail" (pg.

[2][3][5][4] Features that distinguish Cacops from other dissorophids include a large dorsal process of the quadrate and a shortened posterior skull.

In particular, transverse flanges on the pterygoid that extend below the level of the marginal tooth row have been interpreted to be adaptive for capturing and holding struggling prey;[3] this feature is also seen in the trematopids.

Like many other terrestrial tetrapods, Cacops exhibits evidence of a tympanic membrane in the form of a large, smooth, unornamented flange in the otic notch that bears faint striations inferred to have been the sites of attachment.

[11] The authors suggested that Cacops may have had the ability to move forward in short running spurts or that it may have also used a symmetrical walk similar to modern crocodilians or salamanders, in which its body is supported by opposite movements of the front and hind limbs.