Lycaenops
| Lycaenops Temporal range:Guadalupian(Capitanian),
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| L. ornatusskeleton, Buffalo Museum of Science | |
Scientific classification
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Synapsida |
| Clade: | Therapsida |
| Clade: | †Gorgonopsia |
| Family: | †Gorgonopsidae |
| Genus: | †Lycaenops Broom,1925 |
| Type species | |
| Lycaenops ornatus Broom,1925
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| Species | |
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| Synonyms | |
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Lycaenops( "wolf-face" ) is agenusofcarnivoroustherapsids.It lived during theMiddle Permianto the early Late Permian, about 260 mya, in what is nowSouth Africa.[1]
Description
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Like the modern-day wolves from which it takes its name,Lycaenopshad a long and slender skull, with a set of dog-likefangsset into both its upper and lower jaws.[2]These pointed canine teeth were ideal for the use of stabbing and/or tearing at the flesh of any large prey that it came upon.Lycaenopsmost likely hunted small vertebrates such asreptilesanddicynodonts.
Lycaenopswalked and ran with its long legs held close to its body. This is a feature found in mammals, but not in more primitiveamniotes,early reptiles, andsynapsidssuch aspelycosaurs,whose legs are positioned to the sides of their bodies. The ability to move like a mammal would have givenLycaenopsan advantage over other land vertebrates, since it would have been able to outrun them.
Species
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Thetype speciesLycaenops ornatuswas named by South African paleontologistRobert Broomin 1925.[3]
Several other species have also been referred to the genus, includingL. angusticeps,which was originally namedScymnognathus angusticeps.It is currently considered a valid taxon.[4]
Several other specimens have been referred to asLycaenops,but are no longer included within this genus. This includes:
- L. kingwilli,which was originally namedTigricephalus kingwilli,is now placed in the genusAelurognathus.
- L. tenuirostris,which was originally namedTangagorgon tenuirostrisand is now in the genusCyonosaurus.
- Two additional species,L. microdonandL. sollasi,were added toLycaenopsafter having been classified as species ofAelurognathus.The speciesL. minoris now considered a synonym ofL. sollasi.[5]
Classification
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Below is acladogramfrom the phylogenetic analysis of Gebauer (2007):[5]
| Gorgonopsia | |
See also
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References
[edit]- ^Colbert, Edwin H. (1948). "The mammal-like reptile Lycaenops".Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History.89(6): 353–404.
- ^Palmer, D., ed. (1999).The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals.London: Marshall Editions. p. 189.ISBN1-84028-152-9.
- ^Broom, Robert (1925). "On some carnivorous therapsids".Records of the Albany Museum.25:309–326.
- ^Laurin, Michel (1998-12-28)."New data on the cranial anatomy ofLycaenops(Synapsida, Gorgonopsidae), and reflections on the possible presence of streptostyly in gorgonopsians ".Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.18(4): 765–776.doi:10.1080/02724634.1998.10011105.ISSN0272-4634.
- ^abGebauer, E.V.I. (2007).Phylogeny and evolution of the Gorgonopsia with a special reference to the skull and skeleton of GPIT/RE/7113 ('Aelurognathus?' parringtoni)(PDF)(Ph.D. thesis). Tübingen: Eberhard-Karls Universität Tübingen. pp. 1–316.
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