''Elph'' is an extinct

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

dicynodont Dicynodontia is an extinct clade of anomodonts, an extinct type of non-mammalian therapsid. Dicynodonts were herbivorous animals with a pair of tusks, hence their name, which means 'two dog tooth'. Members of the group possessed a horny, typic ...

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 ...

s from

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. Four specimens have been found from the Sokolki Assemblage in European Russia, representing a fauna that dates back to the

Late Permian Late may refer to: * LATE, an acronym which could stand for: ** Limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy, a proposed form of dementia ** Local-authority trading enterprise, a New Zealand business law ** Local average treatment effect, ...

. ''Elph'' was a small herbivore that lived alongside carnivorous

akidnognathids Akidnognathidae is an extinct family of therocephalian therapsids from the Late Permian and Early Triassic of South Africa, Russia and China. The family includes many large-bodied therocephalians that were probably carnivorous, including ''Moscho ...

and inostranceviids, as well as larger herbivores like ''

Dicynodon ''Dicynodon'' ("two dog-teeth") is a genus of dicynodont therapsid that flourished during the Upper Permian period. Like all dicynodonts, it was herbivorous animal. This reptile was toothless, except for prominent tusks, hence the name. It proba ...

'' and pareiasaurids. The

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...

''E. borealis'' was named in 1999. ''Elph'' has a short snout and tusks and is closely related to ''

Interpresosaurus ''Interpresosaurus'' is a genus of dicynodont from Late Permian (Changhsingian) of Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in ...

'' and ''

Katumbia ''Katumbia'' is a genus of dicynodont from Late Permian (Changhsingian) of Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great ...

''.

References

Dicynodonts Anomodont genera Lopingian synapsids of Europe Permian Russia Fossils of Russia Fossil taxa described in 1999 {{anomodont-stub