| Moschowhaitsia | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Therapsida |
| Suborder: | † Therocephalia |
| Family: | † Whaitsiidae |
| Genus: | † Moschowhaitsia Tatarinov, 1963 |
| Type species | |
| Moschowhaitsia vjuschkovi Tatarinov, 1963 | |
Moschowhaitsia is an extinct genus of therocephalian theriodonts. [1] It was among the larger carnivores in the faunal assemblages it occurred in. [2]
Therocephalia is an extinct suborder of eutheriodont therapsids from the Permian and Triassic. The therocephalians ("beast-heads") are named after their large skulls, which, along with the structure of their teeth, suggest that they were carnivores. Like other non-mammalian synapsids, therocephalians were once described as "mammal-like reptiles". Therocephalia is the group most closely related to the cynodonts, which gave rise to the mammals. This relationship takes evidence in a variety of skeletal features. The phylogeny of therocephalians has been disputed, as the monophyly of the group and the relationships of its members are unclear.
Moschorhinus is an extinct genus of therocephalian in the family Akidnognathidae, with only one species: M. kitchingi. It was a carnivorous, lion-sized synapsid which has been found in the Late Permian to Early Triassic of the South African Karoo Supergroup. It had a broad, blunt snout which bore long, straight canines. It appears to have replaced the gorgonopsids ecologically, and hunted much like a big cat. While most abundant in the Late Permian, it survived a little after the Permian Extinction, though these Triassic individuals had stunted growth.
Tetracynodon is an extinct genus of therocephalian. Fossils of Tetracynodon have been found in the Karoo Basin of South Africa. Two species are known: the type species T. tenuis from the Late Permian and the species T. darti from the Early Triassic. Both species were small-bodied and probably fed on insects and small vertebrates. Although Tetracynodon is more closely related to mammals than it is to reptiles, its braincase is very primitive and shares more in common with modern amphibians and reptiles than it does with mammals.
Ictidostoma is an extinct genus of non-mammalian synapsids.
Hofmeyria is an extinct genus of therocephalians.
Viatkosuchus is an extinct genus of therocephalians.
Scylacosauria is a clade of therocephalian therapsids. It includes the basal family Scylacosauridae and the infraorder Eutherocephalia. Scylacosauridae and Eutherocephalia form this clade to the exclusion of Lycosuchidae, the most basal therocephalian family. Thus, Scylacosauria includes all therocephalians except lycosuchids. Below is a cladogram showing the phylogenetic position of Sylacosauria:
Baurioidea is a superfamily of therocephalian therapsids. It includes advanced therocephalians such as Regisaurus and Bauria. The superfamily was named by South African paleontologist Robert Broom in 1911. Bauriamorpha, named by D. M. S. Watson and Alfred Romer in 1956, is a junior synonym of Bauriodea.
Choerosaurus is an extinct genus of therocephalian therapsids from the Late Permian of South Africa. The type species Choerosaurus dejageri was named by South African paleontologist Sidney H. Haughton from the Tropidostoma Assemblage Zone in 1929.
Blattoidealestes is an extinct genus of therocephalian therapsid from the Middle Permian of South Africa. The type species Blattoidealestes gracilis was named by South African paleontologist Lieuwe Dirk Boonstra from the Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone in 1954. Dating back to the Middle Permian, Blattoidealestes is one of the oldest therocephalians. It is similar in appearance to the small therocephalian Perplexisaurus from Russia, and may be closely related.
Icticephalus is an extinct genus of therocephalian therapsids from the Middle and Late Permian of South Africa. The type species Icticephalus polycynodon was named from the Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone by South African paleontologist Robert Broom in 1915. Specimens of Icticephalus have also been described from the Cistecephalus Assemblage Zone. Broom originally placed Icticephalus in the Scaloposauridae, a group of very small therocephalians. Most scaloposaurids are now thought to be juvenile forms of other therocephalians, and Scaloposauridae is no longer recognized as a valid grouping. Icticephalus and other former scaloposaurids are now classified as basal members of Baurioidea.
Ictidodon is an extinct genus of therocephalian therapsids from the Late Permian of South Africa. The type species Ictidodon agilis was named by South African paleontologist Robert Broom in 1925. Broom classified Ictidodon in the Scaloposauridae, a group of small-bodied therocephalians that are now thought to be juvenile forms of larger therocephalians. Ictidodon and many other scaloposaurids are now classified as basal members of the clade Baurioidea.
Silpholestes is an extinct genus of therocephalian therapsids from the Late Permian of South Africa. The type species Silpholestes jackae was named by South African paleontologist Robert Broom in 1948 from the Cistecephalus Assemblage Zone.
Scalopodon is an extinct genus of therocephalian therapsids from the Late Permian of Russia. The type species Scalopodon tenuisfrons was named in 1999 from the Kotelnichsky District of Kirov Oblast. Scalopodon is known from a single fragmentary holotype specimen including the back of the skull, the left side of the lower jaw and isolated postorbital and prefrontal bones. The skull was found in the Deltavjatia Assemblage Zone, which dates back to the early Wuchiapingian about 260 million years ago. Distinguishing features of Scalopodon include narrow frontal bones and a distinctive sagittal crest along the parietal region at the back of the skull. Scalopodon was originally classified in the family Scaloposauridae, and was the first scaloposaurid found in Russia. More recent studies of therocephalians have found scaloposaurids like Scalopodon to be juvenile forms of larger therocephalians and do not consider Scaloposauridae to be a valid group. Scalopodon and most other scaloposaurids are now classified as basal members of Baurioidea.
Pelictosuchus is an extinct genus of therocephalian therapsids from the Late Permian of South Africa. It is classified in the family Akidnognathidae. The type species Pelictosuchus paucidens was named by South African paleontologist Robert Broom in 1940 from the Dicynodon Assemblage Zone.
Lycideopidae is an extinct family of therocephalians from the Late Permian and Early Triassic of South Africa.
Lycideops is an extinct genus of therocephalians from the Late Permian of South Africa. The type species is Lycideops longiceps, named in 1931 by South African paleontologist Robert Broom. Fossils of Lycideops come from the Dicynodon Assemblage Zone of the Beaufort Group. Lycideops is a member of the family Lycideopidae. Like other lycideopids, Lycideops has a long snout.
Urumchia is an extinct genus of therocephalian therapsids from the Early Triassic of China. The type species Urumchia lii was described by Chinese paleontologist C. C. Young in 1952 from the Jiucaiyuan Formation in Xinjiang. The holotype skull has been lost, but Young was able to describe the species on the basis of a detailed cast of the skull. Urumchia is similar to the South African therocephalian Regisaurus in having an expanded pair of vomer bones on the underside of the skull that form a secondary palate. In Urumchia the front end of the vomers narrow to a point, while in Regisaurus they do not. Urumchia has six incisors on either side of the upper jaw, a primitive condition among baurioid therocephalians that usually have fewer incisors.
Simorhinella is an extinct genus of therocephalian therapsids from the Late Permian of South Africa. It is known from a single species, Simorhinella baini, named by South African paleontologist Robert Broom in 1915. Broom named it on the basis of a single fossil collected by the British Museum of Natural History in 1878 that included the skull and jaws forward from the eye sockets. The skull is unusual in that it has an extremely short and deep snout, unlike the longer and lower snouts of most other therocephalians. Because of the skull's distinctiveness, the classification of Simorhinella within Therocephalia is uncertain. However, a 2014 study proposed that it was closely related to the basal therocephalian Lycosuchus, placing it in the family Lycosuchidae.
Gorynychus is a genus of therocephalian from the mid-Permian from Kotelnich, Russia. The genus contains two species, G. masyutinae and G. sundyrensis. It was named after the three-headed dragon Zmey Gorynych from Russian mythology.
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