Blattoidealestes
| Blattoidealestes Temporal range:
Middle Permian | |
|---|---|
| |
| Holotype skull | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Synapsida |
| Clade: | Therapsida
|
| Clade: | †Therocephalia |
| Family: | †Ictidosuchidae |
| Genus: | †Blattoidealestes Boonstra, 1954 |
| Type species | |
| †Blattoidealestes gracilis Boonstra, 1954
| |
Blattoidealestes is an extinct
Middle Permian of South Africa. The type species Blattoidealestes gracilis was named by South African paleontologist Lieuwe Dirk Boonstra from the Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone in 1954.[1] Dating back to the Middle Permian, Blattoidealestes is one of the oldest therocephalians. It is similar in appearance to the small therocephalian Perplexisaurus from Russia, and may be closely related.[2]
The
theriodonts.[3]
Although it is one of the earliest members of the group, Blattoidealestes is in a
polyphyletic assemblage of juvenile therocephalians. Along with many other small-bodied "scaloposaurians", Blattoidealestes is now classified as a member of the advanced therocephalian clade Baurioidea.[4]