Pristerognathus is an extinct genus of therocephalian, known from the late Middle Permian (Capitanian) of South Africa.[2] It lends its name to the Pristerognathus Assemblage Zone of the Beaufort Group of South African geological strata. Pristerognathus was a medium-sized therocephalian with a 25 cm (9.8 in) skull and a total length up to 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in).[3]
| Pristerognathus Temporal range: Middle Permian
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| Skulls in side view, including that of the holotype (B) | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Synapsida |
| Clade: | Therapsida |
| Clade: | †Therocephalia |
| Family: | †Scylacosauridae |
| Genus: | †Pristerognathus Seeley, 1895 |
| Species: | †P. polyodon
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| Binomial name | |
| †Pristerognathus polyodon Seeley, 1895
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| Synonyms[1] | |
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Genus synonymy
Species synonymy
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These animals were roughly dog-sized, and are characterized by long, narrow skulls with large canines. They are likely to have lived in woodlands, and preyed on smaller therapsids and millerettids of the time.[4]
Pristerognathus was described in 1895 by Harry Seeley who named the type species Pristerognathus polyodon. Many other species were named in the years following, such as P. baini, P. minor, and P. vanderbyli, however, they have all since been recognised as referable to other species (such as Glanosuchus and Pristerognathoides) are too dubious to determine. As such, P. polyodon is the only definitive species of Pristerognathus.[2]
See also
editReferences
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- ^ Kammerer, Christian E. (2023). "Revision of the Scylacosauridae (Therapsida: Therocephalia)". Palaeontologia africana. 56: 51–87. ISSN 2410-4418.
- ^ a b F. Abdala, B. Rubidge, and J. van der Heever, "The oldest therocephalians (Therapsida, Eutheriodonta) and the early diversification of Therapsida," Palaeontology, 51, 1011-1024 (2008)
- ^ Stainford Kemp, Thomas(2005) The origin and evolution of mammals p.55
- ^ "Meet the Mammal-Like Reptiles of the Paleozoic Era".