Clelandina

Clelandina
Temporal range: Late Permian 259–254 Ma
↓
Holotype skull of C. rubidgei
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Order: Therapsida
Family: †Gorgonopsidae
Tribe: †Rubidgeini
Genus: †Clelandina
Type species
Clelandina rubidgei
Robert Broom, 1948
Synonyms
  • Tigrisaurus
    Broom & George, 1950
  • Dragocephalus
    Brink & Kitching, 1953
Restoration of C. rubidgei
Referred skull, the holotype of Tigrisaurus pricei

Clelandina is an extinct genus of rubidgeine gorgonopsian from the Late Permian of Africa. It was first named by Broom in 1948. The type and only species is C. rubidgei. It is relatively rare, with only four known specimens.[1][2]

Description

Clelandina rubidgei has an extraordinarily small sclerotic ring relative to the size of its orbit, which implies that it was diurnal. It is the only rubidgeine with a preserved sclerotic ring, so it is unknown whether this trait was shared by other members of the subfamily. Like all rubidgeines, it was relatively large, with a skull up to 36 cm long. It had reduced dentition, with the teeth posterior to the canines being absent and replaced with a bony ridge. The skull has heavily pachyostosed, with massive rugose bosses.[1]

Classification

Clelandina shares many characteristics with Rubidgea and Dinogorgon, which has led some authors to synonymize them. All three are now considered to be part of the same tribe, Rubidgeini, rather than the same genus.

Below is a cladogram by Kammerer et al. in 2016.[1]

Rubidgeinae

Smilesaurus ferox

Aelurognathus tigriceps

Ruhuhucerberus haughtoni


Sycosaurus laticeps

Sycosaurus nowaki



Rubidgeini

Leontosaurus vanderhosti

Dinogorgon rubidgei

Rubidgea atrox

Clelandina rubidgei









See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Kammerer, Christian F. (2016). "Systematics of the Rubidgeinae (Therapsida: Gorgonopsia)". PeerJ. 4: e1608. doi:10.7717/peerj.1608.
  2. ↑ "Fossilworks: Clelandina".

Further reading


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