Herpetoskylax
Appearance
Herpetoskylax Temporal range: Late Permian [1]
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Herpetoskylax hopsoni | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Synapsida |
Clade: | Therapsida |
Suborder: | †Biarmosuchia |
Genus: | †Herpetoskylax Sidor and Rubidge, 2006 |
Species: | †H. hopsoni
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Binomial name | |
†Herpetoskylax hopsoni Sidor and Rubidge, 2006
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Herpetoskylax is an extinct genus of biarmosuchians which existed in South Africa. The type species is Herpetoskylax hopsoni.[2] It lived in the Late Permian Period.[3]
The genus name means ‘reptile-puppy’, from the Ancient Greek herpeto- (ἑρπετόν, ‘creeping animal’) and skylax (σκύλαξ, ‘young dog’). The juxtaposition of reptilian and mammalian names highlights the transitional characters of therapsids.[4] The type specimen is CGP 1/67, a skull.
References
- ^ [1]
- ^ Sidor, C.A., and Rubidge, B.S. (2006). "Herpetoskylax hopsoni, a new biarmosuchian (Therapsida: Biarmosuchia) from the Beaufort Group of South Africa" In: Amniote Paleobiology, perspectives on the Evolution of mammals, birds and reptiles, edited by Carrano, M.T., Gaudin, T.J., Blob, R.W., and Wible, J.R. Chicago University Press, p. 76-113
- ^ Palaeocritti - a guide to prehistoric animals. Herpetoskylax hopsoni. Downloaded 25/03/2011
- ^ Carrano, Matthew T. (2006). Amniote Paleobiology. University of Chicago Press. p. 80. ISBN 978-0-226-09478-6.