| Kannemeyeriiforms | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Restoration ofStahleckeria potens | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Synapsida |
| Clade: | Therapsida |
| Suborder: | †Anomodontia |
| Clade: | †Dicynodontia |
| Infraorder: | †Dicynodontoidea |
| Clade: | †Kannemeyeriiformes von Huene, 1948 |
| Subgroups | |
Kannemeyeriiformes is a group of large-bodiedTriassicdicynodonts. As aclade, Kannemeyeriiformes has been defined to include the speciesKannemeyeria simocephalus and all dicynodonts more closely related to it than to the speciesLystrosaurus murrayi.
Despite being the most species-rich group of dicynodonts in the Triassic Period, kannemeyeriiforms exhibit much less diversity in terms of their anatomy and ecological roles than the dicynodonts from thePermian Period.
Lystrosauridae is thought to be the most closely related group (sister taxon) to Kannemeyeriiformes, and since the earliest lystrosaurids are known from theLate Permian, the divergence of these two groups must have occurred at least as far back as this time, implying that a longghost lineage must exist.[1] Although no kannemeyeriiforms have been found in the Late Permian yet, the recent discovery ofSungeodon helps fill a gap in the early fossil record of the group by showing that kannemeyeriiforms diversified right after thePermian-Triassic extinction event.[2]
Four families have been included in the group: Kannemeyeriidae,Shansiodontidae,Stahleckeriidae, andDinodontosauridae.[3] Occasionally some of these families are not recognized, with most kannemeyeriiforms being placed in Kannemeyeriidae.[4] Recentphylogenetic analyses suggest that these families represent similar body plans ormorphotypes rather than true evolutionary groupings.[1]
Below is acladogram from Szczygielski & Sulej (2023):[5]
| Kannemeyeriiformes | |
