Clelandina

Clelandina Temporal range: Late Permian
Holotype skull of C. rubidgei
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Clade:	Synapsida
Clade:	Therapsida
Clade:	†Gorgonopsia
Family:	†Gorgonopsidae
Tribe:	†Rubidgeini
Genus:	†Clelandina
Type species
Clelandina rubidgei Robert Broom, 1948
Synonyms
Tigrisaurus Broom & George, 1950 Dragocephalus Brink & Kitching, 1953

Restoration of C. rubidgei

Referred skull, the holotype of Tigrisaurus pricei

Clelandina is an extinct genus of rubidgeine gorgonopsian from the Late Permian of Africa. It was first named by Broom in 1948. The type and only species is C. rubidgei. It is relatively rare, with only four known specimens.

Description

Clelandina rubidgei has an extraordinarily small sclerotic ring relative to the size of its orbit, which implies that it was diurnal. It is the only rubidgeine with a preserved sclerotic ring, so it is unknown whether this trait was shared by other members of the subfamily. Like all rubidgeines, it was relatively large, with a skull up to 36 cm long. It had reduced dentition, with the teeth posterior to the canines being absent and replaced with a bony ridge. The skull has heavily pachyostosed, with massive rugose bosses.

Classification

Clelandina shares many characteristics with Rubidgea and Dinogorgon, which has led some authors to synonymize them. All three are now considered to be part of the same tribe, Rubidgeini, rather than the same genus.

Below is a cladogram by Kammerer et al. in 2016.

Rubidgeinae	Smilesaurus ferox Aelurognathus tigriceps Ruhuhucerberus haughtoni Sycosaurus laticeps Sycosaurus nowaki Rubidgeini Leontosaurus vanderhosti Dinogorgon rubidgei Rubidgea atrox Clelandina rubidgei

See also

• List of synapsids

Further reading

• paleodb.org
• www.paleofile.com Alphabetical list - C section.
• The Origin and Evolution of Mammals by Tom Kemp. Published 2005, Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-850761-5