''Watongia'' is an extinct
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 ...
of non-
mammal
Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...
ian
synapsid
Synapsids + (, 'arch') > () "having a fused arch"; synonymous with ''theropsids'' (Greek, "beast-face") are one of the two major groups of animals that evolved from basal amniotes, the other being the sauropsids, the group that includes reptil ...
s from Middle
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 ...
of
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
. Only one species has been described, ''Watongia meieri'', from the
Chickasha Formation
The Chickasha Formation is a geologic formation in Oklahoma. It preserves fossils dating back to the Permian period.
See also
* List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Oklahoma
* Paleontology in Oklahoma
Paleontology in Oklahoma refers ...
.
It was assigned to family
Gorgonopsidae
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, ...
by Olson
[Olson, E.C. 1974. On the Source of Therapsids. ''Annals of the South African Museum'' 64: 27-46.] and to
Eotitanosuchia by Carroll. Reisz and collaborators assigned the genus in
Varanopidae
Varanopidae is an extinct family of amniotes that resembled monitor lizards and may have filled a similar niche, hence the name. Typically, they are considered synapsids that evolved from an ''Archaeothyris''-like synapsid in the Late Carbonifer ...
.
Based on scaling with other
synapsids
Synapsids + (, 'arch') > () "having a fused arch"; synonymous with ''theropsids'' (Greek, "beast-face") are one of the two major groups of animals that evolved from basal amniotes, the other being the Sauropsida, sauropsids, the group that inc ...
, length of ''Watongia'' was about , making it the largest of the family Varanopidae.
Watongia , mAnasa-taraMgiNI
/ref>
See also
* List of pelycosaurs
This list of pelycosaurs is an attempt to create a comprehensive listing of all genera that have ever been included in the synapsida excluding therapsida and purely vernacular terms. The list includes all commonly accepted genera, but also genera t ...
References
External links
The main groups of non-mammalian synapsids at Mikko's Phylogeny Archive
Varanopids
Prehistoric synapsid genera
Guadalupian synapsids of North America
Taxa named by Everett C. Olson
Fossil taxa described in 1974
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