Sauroctonus
Sauroctonus Temporal range:
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Overview of lectotype skull of S. progressus
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Synapsida |
Clade: | Therapsida
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Clade: | †Gorgonopsia |
Family: | †Gorgonopsidae |
Genus: | †Sauroctonus Bystrow, 1955 |
Type species | |
†Sauroctonus progressus Hartmann-Weinberg, 1938
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Other species | |
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Synonyms | |
Synonyms of S. progressus
Synonyms of S?. parringtoni
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Sauroctonus ("lizard killer") is an
Nearly complete remains listed from Tanzania have been attributed to a second species, S. parringtoni, which would make this genus the only known gorgonopsian to have lived in both Africa and Russia. However, it has been proven that this assimilation is mistaken, as it is mainly based on superficial resemblances, leaving the latter awaiting a more in-depth study to determine its relationships with other representatives of the group. Moreover, studies published post-2018 prove that S. progressus belongs to a grouping of Russian gorgonopsians, placed alongside the genera Suchogorgon, Pravoslavlevia and Inostrancevia, due to some shared cranial characteristics.
Research history
S. progressus
In 1938, the
S.? parringtoni
All confirmed remains of Sauroctonus are only recorded in Russian territory and belong to the species S. progressus, mainly represented by cranial material.[2][10][8] In 1950, a relatively complete skeleton, discovered in the Usili Formation in Tanzania, cataloged GPIT/RE/7113, was described by the German paleontologist Friedrich von Huene as a representative of the species Scymnognathus parringtoni,[a] being named in honor of Francis Rex Parrington.[11][10] In 1970, the skeleton was reidentified by the French paleontologist Denise Sigogneau-Russell as a specimen of Aelurognathus, being renamed Aelurognathus parringtoni.[4] It is from 2007 that the paleontologist Eva V. I. Gebauer reclassifies it as an African representative of the genus Sauroctonus,[6] a claim that she would confirm again in 2014.[7] However, this affiliation is formally rejected in 2018, as new classifications based on cranial anatomical traits show that derived gorgonopsians are separated into two clade of Russian and African origin, leaving GPIT/RE/7113 as an incertae sedis within the latter group.[8]
Other specimens have been attributed to this species, but no concrete affiliation has been worked out to date. For example, the well-preserved skull cataloged SAM-PK-K10034, mentioned briefly in a study concerning the nocturnal vision of non-mammalian
Description
The skull size of Sauroctonus is 22.5 cm long, indicating that it should be a medium-sized gorgonopsian. The skull is narrow posteriorly with small
Classification
The
It is from 2018 that paleontologists Christian Kammerer and Vladimir Masyutin definitively reclassify Sauroctonus in a group of Russian gorgonopsians, alongside the genera Inostrancevia, Pravoslavlevia and Suchogorgon, in particular for certain shared cranial characteristics, more precisely for close contact between the pterygoid and the vomer.[8] This classification will be immediately followed by the next studies.[9][15]
The following cladogram showing the position of Sauroctonus within Gorgonopsia follows Kammerer and Rubidge, 2022:[15]
Gorgonopsia |
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Paleobiology
One of the most recognizable features among gorgonopsians is the presence of long, saber-like canines on the upper and lower jaw. A study published in 2020 shows that several prehistoric predators with this comparable morphology would have had various possible prey-killing techniques. Among the gorgonopsians, Sauroctonus is found to have had a reduced jaw opening, unlike in the closely related Inostrancevia, indicating that it would not have been as specialized in hunting as the other representatives of the group.[16]
Paleoecology
S. progressus is known from the locality of Sjomin Ravine, located in the republic of Tatarstan, in the northeast of European Russia. This fossil site, discovered in 1938 and dating from the end of the Middle Permian (
See also
Notes
References
- ^ A. P. Hartmann-Weinberg (1938). "Gorgonopsians as time indicators". Problems of Paleontology. 4: 47–123.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-521-55476-3.
- ^ a b A. P. Bystrow (1955). "A gorgonopsian from the Upper Permian beds of the Volga". Voprosy Paleontologii. 2: 7–18.
- ^ OCLC 462558622.
- ^ a b Leonid P. Tatarinov (1974). Териодонты СССР [Theriodonts of the USSR] (in Russian). Vol. 143. Trudy Paleontologicheskogo Instituta, Akademiya Nauk SSSR. pp. 1–226.
- ^ a b c d Gebauer, E. V. I. (2007). Phylogeny and Evolution of the Gorgonopsia with a Special Reference to the Skull and Skeleton of GPIT/RE/7113 (PDF) (PhD). Eberhard-Karls University of Tübingen. Archived from the original on 2012-07-22.
- ^ ISBN 9789400768413
- ^ PMID 29900078.
- ^ PMID 30485338.
- ^ a b c d "Sauroctonus". Paleofile.
- ^ F. von Huene (1950). "Die Theriodontier des ostafrikanischen Ruhuhu-Gebietes in der Tübinger Sammlung". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie (in German). 92: 47–136.
- PMID 25186003.
- ^ ISBN 978-3437304873.
- ^ a b Mikhail F. Ivakhnenko (2003). "Eotherapsids from the East European placket". Paleontological Journal. 37 (S4): 339–465.
- ^ S2CID 249977414.
- PMID 32993469.
- S2CID 128952446.