Edward Drinker Cope named and described "Edaphosaurus" ("pavement lizard") in 1882, based on a crushed skull and a left lower jaw from the Texas Red Beds. He noted in particular the "dense body of teeth" on both the upper and lower jaws, and used the term "dental pavement" in a table in his description. The type species name "pogonias" means "bearded" in Greek, referring to the enlarged inward sloping chin on the lower jaw. Cope classified "Edaphosaurus" as a member of his Pelycosauria and created the new family Edaphosauridae. The type material did not include any of the post-cranial skeleton apart from an axis vertebra and Cope was unaware of the animal's large sail, a feature then known only for "Dimetrodon".