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Cynognathia
Cynognathia ("dog jaw") is one of two major clades of cynodonts, the other being Probainognathia. Cynognathians included the large carnivorous genus '' Cynognathus'' and the herbivorous or omnivorous gomphodonts such as traversodontids. Cynognathians can be identified by several synapomorphies including a very deep zygomatic arch that extends above the middle of the orbit. Cynognathian fossils are currently known from Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Europe, North America and South America. Taxonomy *Suborder Cynodontia **Infraorder Eucynodontia ***(unranked) Cynognathia ****Family Cynognathidae *****'' Cynognathus'' ****(unranked) Gomphodontia *****Family Diademodontidae ******'' Diademodon'' ******'' Titanogomphodon'' *****(unranked) Neogomphodontia ******Family Trirachodontidae *******Subfamily Trirachodontinae ********'' Langbergia'' ********'' Trirachodon'' *******Subfamily Sinognathinae ********'' Beishanodon'' ********'' Sinognathus'' ********''Cricodon'' ******Family ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cynognathus Crateronotus
''Cynognathus'' is an extinct genus of large-bodied cynodontian therapsids that lived in the Middle Triassic. It is known from a single species, ''Cynognathus crateronotus''. ''Cynognathus'' was a predator closely related to mammals and had a southern hemispheric distribution. Fossils have so far been recovered from South Africa, Argentina, Antarctica, and Namibia. Description ''Cynognathus'' was a heavily built animal, and measured around in snout-to-vent body length and up to in total length. It had a particularly large head, up to in length, with wide jaws and sharp teeth. Its hindlimbs were placed directly beneath the body. There has been controversy about whether the forelimbs were also held upright or sprawled outwards in a reptilian fashion, but recent studies suggest cynodonts typically held their front legs in a posture between these two extremes. A study of living mammals concluded that "upright posture" in mammals is a myth based on the posture of mammal species ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cynognathus
''Cynognathus'' is an extinct genus of large-bodied cynodontian therapsids that lived in the Middle Triassic. It is known from a single species, ''Cynognathus crateronotus''. ''Cynognathus'' was a predator closely related to mammals and had a southern hemispheric distribution. Fossils have so far been recovered from South Africa, Argentina, Antarctica, and Namibia. Description ''Cynognathus'' was a heavily built animal, and measured around in snout-to-vent body length and up to in total length. It had a particularly large head, up to in length, with wide jaws and sharp teeth. Its hindlimbs were placed directly beneath the body. There has been controversy about whether the forelimbs were also held upright or sprawled outwards in a reptilian fashion, but recent studies suggest cynodonts typically held their front legs in a posture between these two extremes. A study of living mammals concluded that "upright posture" in mammals is a myth based on the posture of mammal species ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neogomphodontia
Gomphodontia is a clade of cynognathian cynodonts that includes the families Diademodontidae, Trirachodontidae, and Traversodontidae. Gomphodonts are distinguished by wide and closely spaced molar-like postcanine teeth, which are convergent with those of mammals. Other distinguishing characteristics of gomphodonts include deep zygomatic arches, upper postcanines with three or more cusps spanning their widths and lower postcanines with two cusps spanning their widths. They are thought to have been herbivorous or omnivorous. Gomphodonts first appeared in the Early Triassic and became extinct at the end of the Late Triassic. Fossils are known from southern Africa, Argentina and southern Brazil (Paleorrota geopark), eastern North America, Europe, China, and Antarctica. Gomphodontia was first named by paleontologist Harry Seeley in 1895. He considered it an order of wide-toothed therapsids (then called anomodonts) from South Africa, distinct from Cynodontia. By the 1930s Gomphodonti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trirachodontinae
Trirachodontidae is an extinct, possibly paraphyletic family of cynognathian cynodonts from the Triassic of China and southern Africa. Trirachodontids appeared during the Early Triassic soon after the Permian-Triassic extinction event and quickly spread over a wide geographic area in a comparatively brief amount of time from 250 to 237 million years ago. Trirachodontids have wide skulls and short, narrow snouts. Two large holes called temporal fenestrae run along the back of the head and have a uniformly large width. Trirachodontids also have two large canine teeth and smaller cusped postcanines. Most of the features that distinguish trirachodonts from other cynodonts are found in their dentition. Trirachodontids lived in semi-arid environments with seasonal rainfall. The bone structure of trirachodontids suggests that they grew quickly in seasons with high rainfall and slowly in less favorable seasons. One trirachodontid, ''Trirachodon'', has been found in association with comp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gomphodontia
Gomphodontia is a clade of cynognathian cynodonts that includes the families Diademodontidae, Trirachodontidae, and Traversodontidae. Gomphodonts are distinguished by wide and closely spaced molar-like postcanine teeth, which are convergent with those of mammals. Other distinguishing characteristics of gomphodonts include deep zygomatic arches, upper postcanines with three or more cusps spanning their widths and lower postcanines with two cusps spanning their widths. They are thought to have been herbivorous or omnivorous. Gomphodonts first appeared in the Early Triassic and became extinct at the end of the Late Triassic. Fossils are known from southern Africa, Argentina and southern Brazil (Paleorrota geopark), eastern North America, Europe, China, and Antarctica. Gomphodontia was first named by paleontologist Harry Seeley in 1895. He considered it an order of wide-toothed therapsids (then called anomodonts) from South Africa, distinct from Cynodontia. By the 1930s Gomphodont ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sinognathinae
Trirachodontidae is an extinct, possibly paraphyletic family of cynognathian cynodonts from the Triassic of China and southern Africa. Trirachodontids appeared during the Early Triassic soon after the Permian-Triassic extinction event and quickly spread over a wide geographic area in a comparatively brief amount of time from 250 to 237 million years ago. Trirachodontids have wide skulls and short, narrow snouts. Two large holes called temporal fenestrae run along the back of the head and have a uniformly large width. Trirachodontids also have two large canine teeth and smaller cusped postcanines. Most of the features that distinguish trirachodonts from other cynodonts are found in their dentition. Trirachodontids lived in semi-arid environments with seasonal rainfall. The bone structure of trirachodontids suggests that they grew quickly in seasons with high rainfall and slowly in less favorable seasons. One trirachodontid, ''Trirachodon'', has been found in association with comp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eucynodontia
Eucynodontia ("true dog teeth") is a clade of cynodont therapsids including mammals and most non-mammalian cynodonts. The oldest eucynodonts are known from the Early Triassic and possibly Late Permian. Eucynodontia includes two major subgroups, Cynognathia and Probainognathia. The clade was named in 1982 by Thomas Kemp, who defined it as all cynodonts more derived than '' Thrinaxodon''. In 2001, Hopson and Kitching redefined the clade Eucynodontia as the least inclusive group containing Mammalia and '' Exaeretodon''.James A. Hopson and James W. Kitching, 2001, "A Probainognathian Cynodont from South Africa and the Phylogeny of Nonmammalian Cynodonts" pp 5-35 in: PARISH A. JENKINS, JR., MICHAEL D. SHAPIRO, AND TOMASZ OWERKOWICZ, EDITORS, ''STUDIES IN ORGANISMIC AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY IN HONOR OF A. W. CROMPTON'' Bullettin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. Harvard University 156(1) Phylogeny Cladogram A cladogram (from Greek language, Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cynodontia
Cynodontia () is a clade of eutheriodont therapsids that first appeared in the Late Permian (approximately 260 mya), and extensively diversified after the Permian–Triassic extinction event. Mammals are cynodonts, as are their extinct ancestors and close relatives (Mammaliaformes), having evolved from advanced probainognathian cynodonts during the Late Triassic. Non-mammalian cynodonts occupied a variety of ecological niches, both as carnivores and as herbivores. Following the emergence of mammals, most other cynodont lines went extinct, with the last known non-mammaliaform cynodont group, the Tritylodontidae, having its youngest records in the Early Cretaceous. Description Early cynodonts have many of the skeletal characteristics of mammals. The teeth were fully differentiated and the braincase bulged at the back of the head. Outside of some crown-group mammals (notably the therians), all cynodonts probably laid eggs. The temporal fenestrae were much larger than thos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cynodont
Cynodontia () is a clade of eutheriodont therapsids that first appeared in the Late Permian (approximately 260 Megaannum, mya), and extensively diversified after the Permian–Triassic extinction event. Mammals are cynodonts, as are their extinct ancestors and close relatives (Mammaliaformes), having evolved from advanced probainognathian cynodonts during the Late Triassic. Non-mammalian cynodonts occupied a variety of ecological niches, both as carnivores and as herbivores. Following the emergence of mammals, most other cynodont lines went extinct, with the last known non-mammaliaform cynodont group, the Tritylodontidae, having its youngest records in the Early Cretaceous. Description Early cynodonts have many of the skeletal characteristics of mammals. The teeth were fully differentiated and the braincase bulged at the back of the head. Outside of some Crown group, crown-group mammals (notably the therians), all cynodonts probably laid eggs. The temporal fenestrae#Fenestra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Traversodontidae
Traversodontidae is an extinct family of herbivorous cynodonts. Traversodonts were primarily Gondwanan, with many species known from Africa and South America. Recently, traversodonts have also been found from Europe and North America. Traversodonts first appeared in the Middle Triassic and diversified in the Late Triassic before going extinct at the end of the epoch. The family Traversodontidae was erected by Friedrich von Huene in 1936 for cynodonts first found in São Pedro do Sul in Paleorrota, Brazil. Description Traversodonts are members of Gomphodontia, a group of herbivorous cynognathian cynodonts. As an adaptation toward eating plants, they have wide postcanine teeth behind large canines. These postcanines are closely spaced with their crowns touching each other. Each is usually wider than it is long and is covered in several cusps. Because of their complexity, postcanine teeth are the primary means of identifying and distinguishing different species of traversodont ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
