Palaeohatteria Scale

''Palaeohatteria'' is an extinct genus of basal sphenacodonts known from the Early Permian period ( Sakmarian stage) of Saxony, Germany. It contains a single species, ''Palaeohatteria longicaudata''.

Discovery

''Palaeohatteria'' is based on very young individuals including skulls and partial postcranial skeletons. All specimens were collected at Niederhäslich locality, in Dresden, from the Niederhäslich Limestone Member of the Niederhäslich Formation, Rotliegend Group ( Döhlen Basin), dating to the Sakmarian stage of the Cisuralian series, about 295.0 -290.1  million years old.

Description

''Palaeohatteria'' was a fairly small synapsid, up to 60 cm in length and with a mass of about 3 kg. The affinities of ''Palaeohatteria'' to the pelycosaur were first described in details by Alfred Sherwood Romer & Llewellyn Price (1940). They revised the taxonomy of pelycosaurs and synonymized ''Palaeohatteria'' (alongside with ''Pantelosaurus'' and others) with '' Haptodus'', creating the new combination ''Haptodus longicaudata''. After describing a new species of ''Haptodus'' in 1977, Currie (1979) synonymized all European haptodontines, as well as ''Cutleria wilmarthi'', with the type of the genus, ''H. baylei''. Later, Laurin (1993 and 1994) considered Haptodontinae to represent a polyphyletic grade of basal sphenacodonts, and revalidated ''Palaeohatteria'' among other genera and species. His revision has been accepted since. Due to the early ontological state of its remains, it is rarely included in phylogenetic analyses. However, it is well established that ''Palaeohatteria'' is closely related to " haptodontines" (= basal sphenacodonts) like ''Pantelosaurus''. The cladogram below shows ''Palaeohatteria'' phylogenetic position among other sphenacodonts following Fröbisch ''et al.'' (2011).

Spindler (2016) utilized use of the name Palaeohatteriidae for the clade comprising ''Palaeohatteria'' and ''Pantelosaurus''.Spindler, F. 2016. Morphological description and taxonomic status of ''Palaeohatteria'' and ''Pantelosaurus'' (Synapsida: Sphenacodontia). Freiberger Forschungshefte C550(23): 1–57. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321129043_Morphological_description_and_taxonomic_status_of_Palaeohatteria_and_Pantelosaurus_Synapsida_Sphenacodontia

Etymology

''Palaeohatteria'' was first described and named by Carl Friedrich Heinrich Credner in 1888 and the type species is ''Palaeohatteria longicaudata''. The generic name is derived from Greek παλαιός (''palaios'') "old, ancient", and from '' Hatteria'', a proposed common name and generic name (like ''Rhynchocephalus'') to the Tuatara (''Sphenodon punctatus''). Credner considered it to be an ancient relative of "''Hatteria''". Baur (1889), who considered the name ''Sphenodon'' to be valid for Tuatara (while "''Hatteria''" is a junior synonym, as it is accepted today), claimed that the name ''Palaeohatteria'' should be also invalid. He proposed the name ''Palaeosphenodon'' (meaning "ancient ''Sphenodon''") to replace it, however his proposal was rejected. Hence, ''Palaeosphenodon'' is a junior synonym of ''Palaeohatteria''. The specific name is derived from Greek meaning "long-tailed" in reference to its relatively long tail.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7126420

Prehistoric sphenacodonts
Prehistoric synapsid genera
Sakmarian genera
Cisuralian synapsids of Europe
Permian Germany
Fossils of Germany
Fossil taxa described in 1888
Taxa named by Carl Friedrich Heinrich Credner