A new akidnognathid synapsid specimen from the Permian of Cradock, South Africa and the revision of Hewittia albanensis
The main Karoo Basin of South Africa has yielded a treasure trove of fossil synapsids ranging from the middle Permian to the Early Jurassic, spanning approximately 80 Myr. Hewittia albanensis was first described by Brink (1959) based on AMG 4208 collected from the Chris Hani District Municipality (f...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Institute of Paleobiology PAS
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Acta Palaeontologica Polonica |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.app.pan.pl/article/item/app011872024.html |
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| Summary: | The main Karoo Basin of South Africa has yielded a treasure trove of fossil synapsids ranging from the middle Permian to the Early Jurassic, spanning approximately 80 Myr. Hewittia albanensis was first described by Brink (1959) based on AMG 4208 collected from the Chris Hani District Municipality (former Cradock District), Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Since then, the taxon has been mostly ignored in published research. Here, we provide a redescription of H. albanensis based on a new specimen recovered from the Chris Hani District Municipality within rocks of the Lystrosaurus maccaigi–Moschorhinus Subzone of the Daptocephalus Assemblage Zone. We propose a new genus name for this species, Cradognathus, since Hewittia Brink, 1959, is preoccupied by Hewittia de Lessert, 1928, a crab spider from Congo. The position of Cradognathus within the Akidnognathidae, as well as its generic diagnosis, are revisited and discussed. The new specimen consists of an almost complete skull with some dorsoventral distortion. Cradognathus differs from other akidnognathids by the dental formula, a sharply pointed pterygoid transverse process, a median keel anterior to a short interpterygoid vacuity, and the presence of prominent lateral tuberosities at the ends of the ventromedial pterygoid flanges. We find that Cradognathus forms a clade with Euchambersia, Cerdosuchoides, and Moschorhinus within Akidnognathidae. |
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| ISSN: | 1732-2421 |