Arctognathus

Arctognathus; Temporal range: 259.9–252.17 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Late Permian
	Life restoration of A. curvimola
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Clade:	Synapsida
Clade:	Therapsida
Clade:	† Gorgonopsia
Family:	† Gorgonopsidae
Genus:	† Arctognathus ; Broom, 1911
Species
	†A. breviceps(Boonstra, 1934 [originally Arctognathoides breviceps]); †A. cookei(Broom, 1948); †A. curvimola(Owen, 1876 [originally Lycosaurus curvimola]) (type); †A. nasuta(Huene, 1950);
Synonyms
	ArctognathoidesBoonstra, 1934; LycaenodontoidesHaughton, 1924;

Last updated May 07, 2025

Arctognathus is an extinct genus of gorgonopsids that throve during the Late Permian in the Karoo basin of what is now South Africa.^[2]

Discovery

A carnivore, like all gorgonopsid, Arctognathus was given its name ("Bear jaw") in reference to its short and rounded snout. There is only one recognized species, A. curvimola.^[3]

Description

It was a small gorgonopsid with a total length estimated at 1.1 m and an 18 cm skull.^[4]

Classification

Below is a cladogram from the phylogenetic analysis of Gebauer (2007):^[5]

Njalila

Arctognathus

	Sycosaurus

	Clelandina

References

↑ "Arctognathus". paleobiodb.org. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
↑ Sidor 2003 , p. 606
↑ Christian F. Kammerer (2014) Cranial osteology of Arctognathus curvimola, a short-snouted gorgonopsian from the Late Permian of South Africa. Papers in Palaeontology (advance online publication) DOI: 10.1002/spp2.1002 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/spp2.1002/abstract
↑ "Arctognathus - Palaeocritti - a guide to prehistoric animals". Archived from the original on April 3, 2016.
↑ Gebauer, E.V.I. (2007). Phylogeny and evolution of the Gorgonopsia with a special reference to the skull and skeleton of GPIT/RE/7113 ('Aelurognathus?' parringtoni) (PDF) (Ph.D. thesis). Tübingen: Eberhard-Karls Universität Tübingen. pp. 1–316.

Bibliography

Kemp, T.S. (September 4, 1969). "On the Functional Morphology of the Gorgonopsid Skull" (PDF). Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences. 256 (801): 1–83. Bibcode:1969RSPTB.256....1K. doi:10.1098/rstb.1969.0036. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
Sidor, Christian A. (2003). "Evolutionary trends and the origin of the mammalian lower jaw" (PDF). Paleobiology. 29 (4): 605–640. doi:10.1666/0094-8373(2003)029<0605:etatoo>2.0.co;2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2011.

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[1] "Arctognathus". paleobiodb.org. Retrieved 2021-10-10.

[2] Sidor 2003 , p. 606

[3] Christian F. Kammerer (2014) Cranial osteology of Arctognathus curvimola, a short-snouted gorgonopsian from the Late Permian of South Africa. Papers in Palaeontology (advance online publication) DOI: 10.1002/spp2.1002 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/spp2.1002/abstract

[4] "Arctognathus - Palaeocritti - a guide to prehistoric animals". Archived from the original on April 3, 2016.

[GEVI07-5] Gebauer, E.V.I. (2007). Phylogeny and evolution of the Gorgonopsia with a special reference to the skull and skeleton of GPIT/RE/7113 ('Aelurognathus?' parringtoni) (PDF) (Ph.D. thesis). Tübingen: Eberhard-Karls Universität Tübingen. pp. 1–316.

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