Robertia

Robertia as described by Saaristo in 2006 is the (invalid) new genus name for the spider Theridion braueri, described by Simon in 1898.

Robertia Temporal range: Middle Permian-Late Permian, 265–260 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Clade:	Synapsida
Order:	Therapsida
Infraorder:	†Dicynodontia
Family:	†Pylaecephalidae
Genus:	†Robertia King, 1981
Species
†R. broomiana King, 1981 (type)

Robertia was a small, primitive dicynodont, one the earlier members of this group. The type species R. broomiana was named in 1981. It is known from the Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone of the South African Karoo, and was about 20 centimetres (8 in) in length.

Robertia possessed a moderately wide skull roof, small postcanine teeth, and the palatine bone in the roof of its mouth was not as reduced as in its more successful relative, Diictodon. It had a notch immediately in front of the tusk-like canines on the upper jaw, which would presumably have held tough plant matter, such as stems and twigs, before the animal severed them with its horny beak.^[1]

See also

• List of synapsids

References

1. Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 190. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.

• King, Gillian M., 1990, the Dicynodonts: A Study in Palaeobiology, Chapman and Hall, London and New York