Mupashi

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Mupashi
Temporal range: Wuchiapingian
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Synapsida
Clade: Therapsida
Clade: Therocephalia
Family: Karenitidae
Genus: Mupashi
Huttenlocker & Sidor, 2016
Type species
Mupashi migrator
Huttenlocker & Sidor, 2016

Mupashi is an extinct monotypic genus of therocephalians that lived during the Late Permian of what is now Zambia. [1] . It is represented by the single species Mupashi migrator. [2]

Description

The holotype skull was recovered from the Upper Madumabisa Mudstone in the Luangwa Basin. [3] Unlike most other therocephalians, Mupashi possessed an unusually high tooth count and a slender, elongated snout. Analysis of the sclerotic ring (a ring of bone found in the eye) indicates that the animal likely had a nocturnal or crepuscular lifestyle, being well-adapted to low-light environments. [2] Its discovery is significant as it represents the first member of the family Karenitidae found in Gondwana, suggesting a wider geographic distribution for this group than previously thought. [4]

References

  1. Huttenlocker, A. K.; Sidor, C. A. (2016). "The first karenitid (Therapsida, Therocephalia) from the upper Permian of Gondwana and the biogeography of Permo-Triassic therocephalians". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. doi:10.1080/02724634.2016.1111897.
  2. 1 2 Huttenlocker, A. K.; Sidor, C. A. (2016). "The first karenitid (Therapsida, Therocephalia) from the upper Permian of Gondwana". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 36 (4). doi:10.1080/02724634.2016.1111897.
  3. "Mupashi Huttenlocker and Sidor 2016 (therapsid)". Paleobiology Database. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  4. Angielczyk, K. D. (2014). "Permian and Triassic Anticedents of Mammalia". Earth-Science Reviews. 138: 32–54. doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2014.08.003.