Hipposaurus ('horse lizard') is an extinct genus of basal therapsids known from the Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone of the Main Karoo Basin, South Africa. Chronologically this is within the Capitanian stage of the Guadalupian Series (Middle Permian). The genus was first described by S.H. Haughton as H. boonstrai on the basis of a skull and associated skeleton[1] and was later considered a gorgonopsian in the family 'Ictidorhinidae' by Robert Broom.[2] It is now considered a basal biarmosuchian,[3] but its affinities remain uncertain. Some authors note the similarity of its braincase with that of Herpetoskylax.[4] H. boonstrai is currently known from only two specimens in the Iziko South African Museum, Cape Town.
| Hipposaurus Temporal range: Capitanian,
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Synapsida |
| Clade: | Therapsida |
| Suborder: | †Biarmosuchia |
| Family: | †Hipposauridae |
| Genus: | †Hipposaurus Haughton, 1929 |
| Species | |
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"H. brinki" is based on a single skull that was described by D. Sigogneau in 1970;[5] however, the poor condition of the holotype means most considerations of biarmosuchians ignore it.
See also
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References
edit- ^ Haughton, S.H. (1929). On some new therapsid genera. Annals of the South African Museum, 28, 55-78.
- ^ Broom, R. 1932. The mammal-like reptiles of South Africa and the origin of mammals. Witherby, London, 376 pp.
- ^ Sigogneau-Russell, D. 1989. Theriodontia I. Pp. 1-127. In Wellnhofer, P. (ed.). Encyclopedia of paleoherpetology, Part 17B. Gustav Fischer, Stuttgart.
- ^ Julien Benoit, Vincent Fernandez, Paul R. Manger, Bruce S. Rubidge (November 8, 2017). "Endocranial Casts of Pre-Mammalian Therapsids Reveal an Unexpected Neurological Diversity at the Deep Evolutionary Root of Mammals". Brain, Behavior and Evolution. 90 (4): 1–23. doi:10.1159/000481525.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Sigogneau, D. 1970. Révision systématique des gorgonopsiens Sud Arficains. Cahiers de Paléontologie, Paris. [In French]
- General
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