''Nochnitsa'' (rus.: ночница, literally – nightling) is a genus of

gorgonopsian Gorgonopsia (from the Greek Gorgon, a mythological beast, and 'aspect') is an extinct clade of sabre-toothed therapsids from the Middle to Upper Permian roughly 265 to 252 million years ago. They are characterised by a long and narrow skull, a ...

therapsid Therapsida is a major group of eupelycosaurian synapsids that includes mammals, their ancestors and relatives. Many of the traits today seen as unique to mammals had their origin within early therapsids, including limbs that were oriented more ...

from the Kotelnich red beds of

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Paleoz ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. It contains one species, ''Nochnitsa geminidens''. It the most basal known gorgonopsian and among the smallest members of the clade known to date.

Discovery and naming

Nochnitsa geminidens holotype right side

''Nochnitsa'' is known from only one

specimen Specimen may refer to: Science and technology * Sample (material), a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount * Biological specimen or biospecimen, an organic specimen held by a biorepository ...

, the holotype KPM 310. It was found in Vanyushonki Member of the Kotelnich red beds, along the

Vyatka River The Vyatka (; rus, Вя́тка, p=ˈvʲatkə; tt-Cyrl, Нократ, translit=Noqrat; chm, Виче, Viče; udm, Ватка, Vatka) is a river in Kirov Oblast and the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia, a right tributary of the Kama.

Kirov Oblast Kirov Oblast (russian: Ки́ровская о́бласть, ''Kirovskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) in Eastern Europe. Its administrative center is the city of Kirov. Population: 1,341,312 ( 2010 Census). Geography Na ...

, which dates to the latest

Guadalupian The Guadalupian is the second and middle series/epoch of the Permian. The Guadalupian was preceded by the Cisuralian and followed by the Lopingian. It is named after the Guadalupe Mountains of New Mexico and Texas, and dates between 272.95 ± 0. ...

or early

Lopingian The Lopingian is the uppermost series/last epoch of the Permian. It is the last epoch of the Paleozoic. The Lopingian was preceded by the Guadalupian and followed by the Early Triassic. The Lopingian is often synonymous with the informal terms l ...

epochs. ''Nochnitsa'' is named after the

Nocnitsa In Slavic mythology, notsnitsa (, , , , , , , ), often referred in plural, is a nightmare spirit or demon that torments people and especially children at night. Other names for notsnitsa in East Slavic languages include kriksy, plaksy, plachky, p ...

, a nocturnal hag-like creature from

Slavic mythology Slavic mythology or Slavic religion is the religious beliefs, myths, and ritual practices of the Slavs before Christianisation, which occurred at various stages between the 8th and the 13th century. The South Slavs, who likely settled in the B ...

. Its name was intended as a parallel to the

Gorgon A Gorgon (Help:IPA/English, /ˈɡɔːrɡən/; plural: Gorgons, Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek: Γοργών/Γοργώ ''Gorgṓn/Gorgṓ'') is a creature in Greek mythology. Gorgons occur in the earliest examples of Greek literature. W ...

s, similarly hag-like creatures from

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

, which are the namesake of many genera within Gorgonopsia and the clade as a whole. The name also reflects the nocturnal habits inferred for the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

. The type species name, ''N. geminidens'', means "twin tooth" and refers to one of the autapomorphies of the

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

, postcanine

teeth A tooth ( : teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, tear ...

arranged in pairs.

Description

''Nochnitsa'' is small for a gorgonopsian, with a skull only long. It had a relatively long snout with five incisors, a canine, and six postcanine teeth on each side. The postcanine teeth are autapomorphic for the genus in being arranged in three pairs of closely placed teeth separated by longer diastemata. In each pair, the posterior tooth is larger. The mandible is relatively slender and lacks a strong "chin", unlike other gorgonopsians.

Classification

''Nochnitsa'' is the most basal known gorgonopsian.

Paleobiology

''Nochnitsa'' was a small predator, unlike later gorgonopsians which were large-bodied apex predators. It was a relatively rare member of its ecosystem. The apex predators of the Kotelnich faunal assemblage were large-bodied therocephalians such as '' Gorynychus'' and '' Viatkosuchus''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q55625337 Gorgonopsia Prehistoric therapsid genera Guadalupian synapsids of Europe Lopingian synapsids of Europe Permian Russia Fossils of Russia Fossil taxa described in 2018