Regisaurus
Temporal range:
Skull cast seen from below, Museum of Evolution of Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
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Genus:
Regisaurus
Species
  • R. jacobi Mendrez, 1972

Regisaurus ("Rex's lizard", named after Francis Rex Parrington) is an extinct genus of small carnivorous therocephalian. It is known from a single described species, the type species Regisaurus jacobi, from the Early Triassic Lystrosaurus Assemblage Zone of South Africa, although at least one undescribed species is also known.[1]

Description

Restoration

It was a rather derived baurioid, with a robust skull, short tail, long limbs and relatively large canines. It was apparently related to Urumchia and like Urumchia, it had vomer bones, which form the secondary palate, but they do not narrow to a tip like in Urumchia. However, it retained some primitive characteristics. It had six incisor teeth in each side of the jaw, whereas other baurioids had less.[2] It was probably carnivorous, and ate insects and small vertebrates

Discovery and species

Regisaurus was discovered in 1964 by James W. Kitching and it was named in 1972 by C. H. Mendrez. Two species are known, the type species Regisaurus jacobi and an additional undescribed species. R. jacobi is known from the holotype FRP 1964/27 and the referred specimen BP/1/3973,[3] while the undescribed species is known only from the Holotype T837.[4][5]

Classification

Below is a cladogram modified from Sidor (2001) and Huttenlocker (2009):[6][7]

Baurioidea

Ictidosuchops rubidgei

Ictidosuchidae

Ictidosuchus primaevus

Ictidosuchoides longiceps

Regisauridae

Regisaurus jacobi

Urumchia lii

 Karenitidae 

NHCC LB44 (Unnamed Zambian karenitid)

Karenites ornamentatus

Lycideopidae

Lycideops longiceps

Choerosaurus dejageri

Tetracynodon tenuis

Tetracynodon darti

Scaloposaurus constrictus

Ericiolacertidae

Ericiolacerta parva

Silphedosuchus orenburgensis

Nothogomphodon danilovi

"Ordosiidae"

Hazhenia concava

Ordosiodon youngi

Bauriidae

Bauria cynops

Antecosuchus ochevi

Microgomphodon oligocynus

Traversodontoides wangwuensis

See also

References

  1. C. H. Mendrez (1972). "On the skull of Regisaurus jacobi, a new genus and species of Bauriamorpha Watson and Romer 1956 (=Scaloposauria Boonstra 1953), from the Lystrosaurus-zone of South Africa". In K. A. Joysey; T. S. Kemp (eds.). Studies in Vertebrate Evolution. Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd. pp. 191–212. ISBN 9780050021316.
  2. http://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10539/16101/2007.v.42.Fourie_%26_Rubidge_Postcranial_anatomy_therocephalian.pdf?sequence=1
  3. "Untitled Document".
  4. Kemp, T. S. (1986). "The skeleton of a baurioid therocephalian therapsid from the Lower Triassic (Lystrosaurus Zone) of South Africa" (PDF). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 6 (3): 215–232. doi:10.1080/02724634.1986.10011617. JSTOR 4523096. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
  5. "Untitled Document".
  6. Sidor, C.A. (2001). "Simplification as a trend in synapsid cranial evolution" (PDF). Evolution. 55 (7): 1419–1442. doi:10.1554/0014-3820(2001)055[1419:saatis]2.0.co;2. PMID 11525465.
  7. Huttenlocker, A. (2009). "An investigation into the cladistic relationships and monophyly of therocephalian therapsids (Amniota: Synapsida)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 157 (4): 865–891. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2009.00538.x.
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