Nochnitsa
Nochnitsa | |
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Holotype block, containing skull and partial skeleton | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Synapsida |
Clade: | Therapsida
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Clade: | †Gorgonopsia |
Genus: | †Nochnitsa Kammerer and Masyutin, 2018 |
Type species | |
† Nochnitsa geminidens Kammerer and Masyutin, 2018
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Nochnitsa is an extinct
Discovery and naming
The only known
In 2018, paleontologists Christian F. Kammerer and Vladimir Masyutin named new genera of gorgonopsians and therocephalians discovered at Kotelnitch in two articles in the scientific journal PeerJ.[1][2] In their paper focusing on gorgonopsians, the specimen KPM 310 is identified as the holotype of a new genus and species, which they name Nochnitsa geminidens.[1]
Nochnitsa is named after the
Description
Skull
Nochnitsa is small for a gorgonopsian, with a skull only 82 millimetres (3.2 in) long. It had a relatively long snout with five incisors, a canine, and six postcanine teeth on each side. The postcanine teeth are autapomorphic for the genus in being arranged in three pairs of closely placed teeth separated by longer diastemata. In each pair, the posterior tooth is larger. The mandible is relatively slender and lacks a strong "chin", unlike other gorgonopsians.[1]
Postcranial skeleton
Although incompletely known, the holotype specimen of Nochnitsa contains part of the postcranial elements with the skull, including the
In the cervical vertebrae, the axial spine is broadly rounded and similar in morphology to that of other gorgonopsians. The dorsal vertebrae are preserved as central and transverse process fragments interspersed by the ribs. The ribs are also simple and elongated. The scapula is elongated, narrow and weakly curved, comparable to that of other gorgonopsians of similar size like Cyonosaurus, but different from the anteroposteriorly broadened scapular spines of Inostrancevia.[1]
The
Classification
Nochnitsa is currently the most
The following cladogram showing the position of Nochnitsa within Gorgonopsia follows Kammerer and Rubidge (2022):[5]
Gorgonopsia |
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Paleoecology
Paleoenvironment
Nochnitsa is known from the Kotelnich locality, which consists of a series of Permian red bed exposures along the banks of the Vyatka River in Russia. It is specifically from the Vanyushonki Member, which is the oldest rock unit in the Kotelnich succession, consisting of pale or brown
The Vanyushonki Member contains abundant fossils of tetrapods contemporary to Nochnitsa, most including numerous fossils often consisting of articulated and complete skeletons. Apart from its close relative Viatkogorgon, other therapsids from the locality include the
Ecological niche
As the fossil record shows, the fauna of Kotelnitch was mainly dominated by the large therocephalians, and more specifically by Gorynychus and Viatkosuchus. These two taxa being much larger than Nochnitsa and Viatkogorgon, this indicates that the gorgonopsians occupied smaller predatory roles than the large therocephalians. This is further confirmed by the fact that several gorgonopsians having appeared after the
See also
- Viatkogorgon, another gorgonopsian from the Vanyushonki Member.
Notes
- ^ The proximal end of this feature is not complete and was partially replaced by mudstone during the fossilization of the holotype specimen.[1]
- ^ A clear intermediate is not visible, as this element is generally small in gorgonopsians and may be absent or still buried in the fossil block containing the holotype specimen.[1]
References
- ^ PMID 29900078.
- ^ PMID 29900076.
- PMID 26823998.
- ^ PMID 30485338.
- ^ S2CID 249977414.
- ^ .
- ^ Elena G. Kordikova; Albert J. Khlyupin (2001). "First evidence of a neonate dentition in pareiasaurs from the Upper Permian of Russia". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 46 (4): 589–594. Archived from the original on 27 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
External links
- North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (8 June 2018). "'Monstrous' new Russian saber-tooth fossils clarify early evolution of mammal lineage". ScienceDaily.