Pegomastax
Sign in to savePegomastax is a genus of heterodontosaurid dinosaur that lived during the Early Jurassic of South Africa. The only known specimen was discovered in a 1966–1967 expedition in Transkei District of Cape Province, but was not described until 2012 when Paul Sereno named it as the new taxon Pegomastax africana. The genus name is derived from the Greek for "strong jaw", and the species name describes the provenance of Africa; it was originally spelled africanus, was corrected to africana to align with the gender of the genus name.
Article
8 sectionsContents
- History of discovery
- Description
- Classification
- Paleobiology
- Diet and canine function
- Ecology
- Notes
- References
Pegomastax is a genus of heterodontosaurid dinosaur that lived during the Early Jurassic of South Africa. The only known specimen was discovered in a 1966–1967 expedition in Transkei District of Cape Province, but was not described until 2012 when Paul Sereno named it as the new taxon Pegomastax africana. The genus name is derived from the Greek for "strong jaw", and the species name describes the provenance of Africa; it was originally spelled africanus, was corrected to africana to align with the gender of the genus name.
The only known material of Pegomastax included a partial skull with well-preserved lower jaw and teeth, showing affinities for Heterodontosaurus and the group with a deep jaw, mobile , and a large canine tooth at the front of the snout. The front of the jaws would have supported a keratinous bill, and wear on the teeth suggests that Pegomastax had a herbivorous diet, possibly of tougher plant matter than relatives that lacked the canine. The morphology of the teeth and jaw shows that Pegomastax may have been most closely related to South American taxon Manidens, instead of the other South African or Lesothan genera Heterodontosaurus or Lycorhinus.