| Pristerognathus Temporal range:Middle Permian | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Skulls in side view, including that of theholotype (B) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Synapsida |
| Clade: | Therapsida |
| Clade: | †Therocephalia |
| Family: | †Scylacosauridae |
| Genus: | †Pristerognathus Seeley,1895 |
| Species: | †P. polyodon |
| Binomial name | |
| †Pristerognathus polyodon Seeley, 1895 | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
Genus synonymy
Species synonymy
| |
Pristerognathus is anextinctgenus oftherocephalian, known from the late MiddlePermian (Capitanian) ofSouth Africa.[2] It lends its name to the now defunctPristerognathus Assemblage Zone of theBeaufort Group of South African geological strata (now mostly equivalent to the lowerEndothiodon Assemblage Zone).[3]Pristerognathus was a medium-sized therocephalian with a 25 cm (9.8 in) skull and a total length up to 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in).[4]
These animals were roughly dog-sized, and are characterized by long, narrow skulls with large canines. They are likely to have lived in woodlands, and preyed on smallertherapsids andmillerettids of the time.[5]
Pristerognathus was described in 1895 byHarry Seeley who named thetype speciesPristerognathus polyodon. Many other species were named in the years following, such asP. baini,P. minor, andP. vanderbyli, however, they have all since been recognised as referable to other species (such asGlanosuchus andPristerognathoides) or are too dubious to determine. As such,P. polyodon is the only definitive species ofPristerognathus.[2]
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
