Pylaecephalidae

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Pylaecephalidae
Temporal range: Permian
Fossil tetrapod.jpg
Fossil of Diictodon
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Synapsida
Clade: Therapsida
Suborder: Anomodontia
Clade: Dicynodontia
Family: Pylaecephalidae
van Hoepen, 1934
Type genus
Pylaecephalus
Van Hoepen, 1934
Genera
Synonyms
  • Diictodontidae Cluver and King, 1983
  • Robertiidae Cluver and King, 1983

Pylaecephalidae is a family of dicynodont therapsids that includes Diictodon , Robertia , and Prosictodon from the Permian of South Africa. Pylaecephalids were small burrowing dicynodonts with long tusks. The family was first named in 1934 and was redefined in 2009. [1] Diictodontidae and Robertiidae are considered junior synonyms of Pylaecephalidae; [2] although Pylaecephalus itself is considered a junior synonym of Diictodon, [3] the name Pylaecephalidae predates these names and therefore takes priority. [1]

Phylogeny

Below is a cladogram modified from Angielczyk et al. (2021): [4]

Pylaecephalidae

References

  1. 1 2 Kammerer, C.F.; Angielczyk, K.D. (2009). "A proposed higher taxonomy of anomodont therapsids" (PDF). Zootaxa. 2018: 1–24.
  2. Kenneth D. Angielczyk; Bruce S. Rubidge (2010). "A new pylaecephalid dicynodont (Therapsida, Anomodontia) from the Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone, Karoo Basin, Middle Permian of South Africa". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 30 (5): 1396–1409. Bibcode:2010JVPal..30.1396A. doi:10.1080/02724634.2010.501447. S2CID   129846697.
  3. Sullivan, C., & Reisz, R. R. (2005). CRANIAL ANATOMY AND TAXONOMY OF THE LATE PERMIAN DICYNODONT DIICTODON. Annals of Carnegie Museum, 74(1), 45–75.
  4. Angielczyk, K. D.; Liu, J.; Yang, W. (2021). "A Redescription of Kunpania scopulusa, a Bidentalian Dicynodont (Therapsida, Anomodontia) from the ?Guadalupian of Northwestern China". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 41: e1922428. Bibcode:2021JVPal..41E2428A. doi:10.1080/02724634.2021.1922428. S2CID   236406006.