Herpetoskylax
Sign in to saveHerpetoskylax is an extinct genus of biarmosuchian therapsids which existed in South Africa. The type species is Herpetoskylax hopsoni. It lived in the Late Permian Period.
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Encyclopedic overview
9 sectionsContents
- Description
- Skull
- Palate
- Lower Jaw
- Discovery and Name
- Classification
- Paleobiology
- Paleoenvironment
- References
Herpetoskylax is an extinct genus of biarmosuchian therapsids which existed in South Africa. The type species is Herpetoskylax hopsoni. It lived in the Late Permian Period.
The genus name means 'reptile-puppy', from the Ancient Greek '''' (, 'creeping animal') and '''' (, 'young dog'). The juxtaposition of reptilian and mammalian names highlights the transitional characters of non-mammalian therapsids. The type specimen is CGP 1/67, a skull. The skull and lower jaw were the only components found.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Herpetoskylax” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.