Cynognathia
Appearance
Cynognathia Temporal range: Early Triassic to Early Jurassic
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Skull of the cynognathian Cynognathus crateronotus | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Synapsida |
Clade: | Therapsida |
Clade: | Cynodontia |
Clade: | Eucynodontia |
Clade: | †Cynognathia Hopson and Barghusen, 1986 |
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 traversodontids. Cynognathians can be identified by several synapomorphies including a very deep zygomatic arch that extends above the middle of the orbit. The cynognathians are the longest-lived non-mammalian therapsid clade extending from Triassic to the Late Triassic.
Cynognathian fossils are currently known from South America, Antarctica, and South Africa.
Taxonomy
- Suborder Cynodontia
- Infraorder Eucynodontia
- (unranked) Cynognathia
- Family Cynognathidae
- (unranked) Gomphodontia
- Family Diademodontidae
- Family Trirachodontidae
- Family Traversodontidae
- (unranked) Cynognathia
- Infraorder Eucynodontia