Mandaphon

Last updated

Mandaphon
Temporal range: Middle Triassic
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Parareptilia
Order: Procolophonomorpha
Family: Procolophonidae
Subfamily: Leptopleuroninae
Genus: Mandaphon
Tsuji, 2018
Type species
Mandaphon nadra
Tsuji, 2018

Mandaphon is an extinct genus of procolophonid from the Middle Triassic Manda Formation of Tanzania. It contains a single species, Mandaphon nadra. [1]

Related Research Articles

<i>Hypselorhachis</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Hypselorhachis is a genus of extinct reptile, possibly a ctenosauriscid archosaur related to Ctenosauriscus. It lived during the Triassic Period. It is currently known only from a single vertebra found from the Middle Triassic Manda Beds in Tanzania. The vertebra is preserved in reasonably good condition, as although the tall neural spine is chipped in several places it is not broken despite being quite slender, only around 20 mm thick transversely.

Manda may refer to:

The Manda are an ethnic and linguistic group based in Ludewa District in the Iringa Region of southern Tanzania, along the eastern shore of Lake Malawi. In 2002 the Manda population was estimated to number 22,000. Some of these lived in Gua land and Mkwajuni, Chunya district in Mbeya region.

Euscolosuchus is an extinct genus of suchian closely related to crocodylomorphs. Fossils have been found from the Tomahawk Creek Member of the Turkey Branch Formation outcropping in east-central Virginia. The locality from which the material was found dates back to the early Carnian stage of the Late Triassic, based on palynological studies. These strata are known for the abundance of fossil material belonging to tetrapod vertebrates in relation to other sites of the Newark Supergroup in the Richmond Basin that generally lack such material. The site is unique among others in the supergroup and closely resembles localities in the southern hemisphere, as is suggested by the presence of numerous fossils of traversodont cynodonts found from the area. Other tetrapods present include procolophonians, chiniquodontids, and sphenodonts.

Sangusaurus is an extinct genus of large, non-mammalian synapsid with two recognized species: S. edentatus and S. parringtonii. Sangusaurus is named after the Sangu stream in eastern Zambia near to where it was first discovered + ‘saur’ which is the Greek root for lizard. Sangusaurus fossils have been recovered from the upper parts of the Ntawere Formation in Zambia and of the Lifua Member of the Manda Beds in Tanzania. The earliest study considered Sangusaurus a kannemeyeriid dicynodont, but more recent phylogenetic analyses place Sangusaurus within the stahleckeriid clade of Dicynodontia. Until recently, little work had been done to describe Sangusaurus, likely due to the fact that only four incomplete fossil specimens have been discovered.

<i>Tetragonias</i> Extinct genus of dicynodonts

Tetragonias is an extinct genus of non-mammalian synapsid from the Anisian Manda Beds of Tanzania. Tetra- means “four,” and goni- means “angle,” referencing the square shape of the Tetragonias skull when viewed dorsally. Not to be confused with Tetragonia,Tetragonias were dicynodont anomodonts discovered in the late 1960s by paleontologist A. R. I. Cruickshank in the Manda Formation.

Tsylmosuchus is an extinct genus of potentially dubious archosauriform reptile known from Western Russia. Fossils referred to Tsylmosuchus occurred over a wide area in sediments corresponding to the Induan and Olenekian stages of the Early Triassic. Most of these fossils are fragmentary neck vertebrae which were originally reported as sharing similarities with crocodile-line archosaurs (pseudosuchians) such as Mandasuchus. As a result, Tsylmosuchus was first described as part of the family Rauisuchidae, making it supposedly one of the oldest known archosaurs. However, its fragmentary remains do not show any of the distinguishing features of rauisuchids or even pseudosuchians in general, so Tsylmosuchus has more recently been interpreted as an indeterminate archosauriform. Although three species of Tsylmosuchus have been named, they lack diagnostic traits and are probably not distinct from each other.

Variodens is an extinct genus of trilophosaur. Fossils have been found from the Emborough Quarries in the Mendip Hills of Somerset, England. These fossils have been uncovered from a Late Triassic fissure fill within Carboniferous-age limestone. The type and only known species is V. inopinatus, named in 1957.

Theropsodon is an extinct genus of traversodontid cynodonts from the Middle Triassic of Tanzania. Fossils have been found from the Manda Formation. A single holotype skull of the type species T. njaliliris was named by German paleontologist Friedrich von Huene in 1950.

Scalenodon is an extinct genus of traversodontid cynodonts from the Middle Triassic of Africa and possibly Russia. The type species S. angustifrons was named in 1946 and several other species were named in the following years. Most of the species from Africa are now thought to belong to different genera than Scalenodon.

Manda, or Manda-Matumba, is a Bantu language of Tanzania.

Libognathus is an extinct genus of procolophonid parareptile from the Late Triassic of Texas. The type and only species, Libognathus sheddi, was named in 1997 from the Cooper Canyon Formation in the fossil-rich Post Quarry, which is found in Garza County. Libognathus was the first definite procolophonid discovered in the southwestern United States, although another possible procolophonid called Chinleogomphius was reported from the southwest before Libognathus was named.

Manda Formation

The Manda Formation is a Middle Triassic geologic formation in Tanzania. It preserves fossils of many terrestrial vertebrates from the Triassic, including some of the earliest archosaurs.

Manda may be:

Mandagomphodon is an extinct genus of traversodontid cynodonts from the Middle Triassic Lifua Member of the Manda Beds of Ruhuhu Valley, Tanzania. The type species Mandagomphodon hirschsoni was named by Crompton in 1972 as a species referable to Scalenodon. Later studies, including a 2003 phylogenetic analysis of traversodontid relationships, did not find the species of Scalenodon from the Manda Formation to form a single clade, meaning that many were not referable to the genus. The study suggested that S. hirschsoni had more in common with other traversodontids like Luangwa. S. attridgei was viewed as a possible synonym of S. charigi, which was also found to be only distantly related to S. angustifrons. Therefore, a new generic name Mandagomphodon was erected for S. hirschsoni by James A. Hopson in 2013.

<i>Asperoris</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Asperoris is an extinct genus of archosauriform reptile known from the Middle Triassic Manda Beds of southwestern Tanzania. It is the first archosauriform known from the Manda Beds that is not an archosaur. However, its relationships with other non-archosaurian archosauriforms are uncertain. It was first named by Sterling J. Nesbitt, Richard J. Butler and David J. Gower in 2013 and the type species is Asperoris mnyama. Asperoris means "rough face" in Latin, referring to the distinctive rough texture of its skull bones.

Ruhuhuaria is an extinct genus of owenettid procolophonoid reptile known from the Middle Triassic Manda Beds of southwestern Tanzania. Ruhuhuaria is known solely from the holotype CAMZM T997, poorly preserved but complete skull and mandible recently re-discovered in the collections of the Cambridge Museum of Zoology. It was collected by the English paleontologist Francis Rex Parrington in the early 1930s from the Lifua Member of Manda Beds of the Ruhuhu Basin in Songea Urban District of southwestern Tanzania, which dates back to the late Anisian stage of the Middle Triassic. Ruhuhuaria was first described and named by Linda Akiko Tsuji, Gabriela Sobral and Johannes Müller in 2013 and the type species is Ruhuhuaria reiszi. The generic name is derived from the name of the Ruhuhu Basin. The specific name, reiszi, honors the Canadian paleontologist Robert R. Reisz. Due to the poor preservation of the holotype, the phylogenetic position of Ruhuhuaria within Owenettidae is uncertain. Ruhuhuaria being the second youngest owenettid to date, supports the persistence of owenettids into the Middle Triassic and their coexistence with procolophonids.

Usili Formation

The Usili Formation is a Late Permian geologic formation in Tanzania. It preserves fossils of many terrestrial vertebrates from the Permian, including temnospondyls, pareiasaurs, therapsids and the archosauromorph Aenigmastropheus.

<i>Aleodon</i> Extinct genus of cynodonts

Aleodon is an extinct genus of cynodonts that lived from the Middle to the Late Triassic. Relatively few analyses have been conducted to identify the phylogenetic placement of Aleodon, however those that have place Aleodon as a sister taxon to Chiniquodon. Two species of Aleodon are recognized: A. brachyramphus which was discovered in Tanzania, and A. cromptoni which was discovered most recently in Brazil.

References

  1. Tsuji, Linda A. (2017-11-29). "Mandaphon nadra, gen. et sp. nov., a new procolophonid from the Manda Beds of Tanzania". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 37 (sup1): 80–87. doi:10.1080/02724634.2017.1413383. ISSN   0272-4634.