Kannemeyeria

Kannemeyeria Temporal range: Anisian ~247–242  Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Skull of Kannemeyeria simocephalus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Clade:	Synapsida
Clade:	Therapsida
Suborder:	† Anomodontia
Clade:	† Dicynodontia
Family:	† Kannemeyeriidae
Genus:	† Kannemeyeria Seeley, 1908
Type species
†Kannemeyeria proboscoides Seeley, 1908 (Junior synonym of K. simocephalus)
Species
K. aganosteusKammerer & Ordoñez, 2021 K. lophorhinusRenaut et al., 2003 K. simocephalus (Weithofer, 1888)
Synonyms
Genus synonymy ProplaceriasCruickshank, 1970  ?PtychocynodonSeeley, 1904[ nomen nudum ?] SagecephalusJaekel, 1911 Shaanbeikannemeyeria ? Cheng, 1980 Uralokannemeyeria ? Danilov, 1971 Species synonymy Synonyms of K. simocephalus: Dicynodon latifronsBroom, 1889 Kannemeyeria erithreaHaughton, 1915 K. proboscoidesSeeley, 1909 K. wilsoniCruickshank, 1970 Proplacerias vanhoepeni(Camp, 1956) ?Ptychocynodon pentangulatusSeeley, 1904 [nomen nudum?] Sagecephalus pachyrhynchusJaekel, 1911

Kannemeyeria is a genus of dicynodont that lived during the Anisian age of Middle Triassic period in what is now Africa and South America. ^[1] The generic name is given in honor of Daniel Rossouw Kannemeyer, the South African fossil collector who discovered the original specimen. ^[2] It is one of the first representatives of the family, and hence one of the first large herbivores of the Triassic.

Description

Restoration of Kannemeyeria

Kannemeyeria was about 3 metres (9.8 ft) in length, about the size of an ox. Although it had a large head, it was lightweight due to the size of the eye sockets and nasal cavity. It also had limb girdles which formed massive plates of bone that helped support its heavily built body. ^[3]

Kannemeyeria was well-adapted to living as a herbivore; it had a powerful beak and strong jaw muscles built for shearing plant material. ^[3] Kannemeyeria had a massive head with unusually large openings for the eyes, nostrils and jaw muscles. It evidently tore up roots, stripped leaves from the vegetation with its horny beak and ground them up with its toothless jaws. ^[4]

In a zone of Karoo Supergroup, Kannemeyeria is found alongside large carnivorous archosaur Erythrosuchus . ^[5]

Distribution

Kannemeyeria skull

Kannemeyeria is known from the Subzone B of Burgersdorp Formation of South Africa, the Ntawere Formation of Zambia, the Omingonde Formation of Namibia, the Lifua member of Manda Formation of Tanzania, and the Quebrada de los Fósiles Formation of Argentina. ^{[6] [7]}

Classification

Life reconstruction of K. simocephalus

Below is a cladogram from Kammerer et al. (2013): ^[8]

Kannemeyeriiformes

Angonisaurus Shansiodontidae Tetragonias Vinceria Shansiodon Rhinodicynodon Dinodontosaurus Shaanbeikannemeyeria Kannemeyeria simocephalus Kannemeyeria lophorhinus Parakannemeyeria Xiyukannemeyeria Dolichuranus Rechnisaurus Uralokannemeyeria Rhadiodromus Sinokannemeyeria Rabidosaurus Wadiasaurus Stahleckeriidae Placeriinae Zambiasaurus Placerias Moghreberia Stahleckeriinae Stahleckeria Eubrachiosaurus Sangusaurus Jachaleria Ischigualastia

See also

• List of therapsids

References

1. "Kannemeyeria". Fossilworks. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
2. "Kannemeyeria". Paleofile. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
3. Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 191. ISBN   1-84028-152-9.
4. Cloudsley-Thompson, John L. (2005). Ecology and Behaviour of Mesozoic Reptiles (2005 ed.). Springer. pp. 113–114. ISBN   978-3540224211 . Retrieved 12 March 2020.
5. Hancox, P.J.; Neveling, J.; Rubidge, B.S. (2020-06-01). "Biostratigraphy of the Cynognathus Assemblage Zone (Beaufort Group, Karoo Supergroup), South Africa" . South African Journal of Geology. 123 (2): 217–238. Bibcode:2020SAJG..123..217H. doi:10.25131/sajg.123.0016. ISSN   1012-0750. S2CID   225828531.
6. Chinsamy-Turan, Anusuya (2011). Forerunners of Mammals: Radiation • Histology • Biology. Indiana University Press. p. 53. ISBN   978-0-253-00533-5 . Retrieved 12 March 2020.
7. Kammerer, C. F.; Ordoñez, M. D. (2021). "Dicynodonts (Therapsida: Anomodontia) of South America". Journal of South American Earth Sciences . 108: 103171. Bibcode:2021JSAES.10803171K. doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2021.103171. S2CID   233565963.
8. Kammerer, C. F.; Fröbisch, J. R.; Angielczyk, K. D. (2013). Farke, Andrew A (ed.). "On the Validity and Phylogenetic Position of Eubrachiosaurus browni, a Kannemeyeriiform Dicynodont (Anomodontia) from Triassic North America". PLOS ONE. 8 (5): e64203. Bibcode:2013PLoSO...864203K. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0064203 . PMC   3669350 . PMID   23741307.