Phthinosuchus
| Phthinosuchus Temporal range: Middle Permian, 268–265.8 Ma | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Life restoration of Phthinosuchus discors | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Synapsida |
| Order: | Therapsida |
| Suborder: | †Dinocephalia (?) |
| Family: | †Phthinosuchidae Yefremov, 1954 |
| Genus: | †Phthinosuchus Yefremov, 1954 |
| Type species | |
| †Phthinosuchus discors Yefremov, 1954 | |
Phthinosuchus is an extinct genus of therapsid from the Middle Permian of Russia. Phthinosuchus is the sole member of the family Phthinosuchidae. Phthinosuchus may have been one of the most primitive therapsids, meaning that its ancestors may have branched off early from the main therapsid line.
Phthinosuchus was 1.5 m long with a 20 cm skull, and looked much like the Sphenacodontids, such as Dimetrodon and Sphenacodon. Its temporal fenestrae were larger than those of the Sphenacodontids.[1][2] Like the other early therapsids, it was probably sprawling and carnivorous.
See also
References
- ↑ Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 189. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
- ↑ "Phthinosuchus discors – Palaeocritti – a guide to prehistoric animals". Palaeocritti. Retrieved 2013-06-30.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, May 10, 2014. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.