Aloposaurus

Aloposaurus Temporal range: Late Permian
Life restoration of Aloposaurus gracilis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Order:	Therapsida
Clade:	Theriodontia
Suborder:	†Gorgonopsia
Genus:	†Aloposaurus Broom, 1910
Species
†A. gracilis Broom, 1910 (type) †A. tenuis (Brink and Kitching, 1953 [originally Aloposauroides tenuis])
Synonyms
Aloposauroides Brink and Kitching, 1953

Aloposaurus is an extinct genus of gorgonopsian therapsid from the Late Permian of South Africa. It was first named by Broom in 1910, and contains the type species A. gracilis, and possibly a second species A. tenuis.^[1] This small gorgonopsid had a slender narrow skull only 12 centimetres (4.7 in) long, with a total body length of 60–70 cm (2.0–2.3 ft). Aloposaurus is known from a single weathered skull from a probable immature individual.^[2]

Classification

Aloposaurus gracilis  skull restoration, specimen 5317

Aloposaurus

Below is a cladogram from the phylogenetic analysis of Gebauer (2007):^[1]

Gorgonopsia	Aloposaurus Cyonosaurus Aelurosaurus Gorgonopsidae Scylacognathus Eoarctops Gorgonops Njalila Lycaenops Arctognathus Inostrancevia Rubidgeinae Aelurognathus Rubidgea Sycosaurus Clelandina

References

1. Gebauer, 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) (Thesis). Dissertation Universität Tübingen.
2. "Aloposaurus", palaeocritti.com.

Sources

• paleodb.org