Pristerognathus

Pristerognathus is an extinct genus of therocephalian, known from the late Middle Permian (Capitanian) of South Africa.^[2] It lends its name to the now defunct Pristerognathus Assemblage Zone of the Beaufort Group of South African geological strata (now mostly equivalent to the lower Endothiodon Assemblage Zone).^[3] Pristerognathus was a medium-sized therocephalian with a 25 cm (9.8 in) skull and a total length up to 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in).^[4]

Skull in Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin

Pristerognathus Temporal range: Middle Permian
Skulls in side view, including that of the holotype (B)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Clade:	Synapsida
Clade:	Therapsida
Clade:	†Therocephalia
Family:	†Scylacosauridae
Genus:	†Pristerognathus Seeley, 1895
Species:	†P. polyodon
Binomial name
†Pristerognathus polyodon Seeley, 1895
Synonyms[1]
Genus synonymy Pristerognathoides Boonstra, 1954 Species synonymy Alopecognathus minor Haughton, 1918 Pristerognathus peyeri Broili & Schröder, 1936 Pristerognathoides minor Boonstra, 1954 Pristerognathoides parvus Boonstra, 1954

These animals were roughly dog-sized, and are characterized by long, narrow skulls with large canines. They are likely to have lived in woodlands, and preyed on smaller therapsids and millerettids of the time.^[5]

Pristerognathus was described in 1895 by Harry Seeley who named the type species Pristerognathus polyodon. Many other species were named in the years following, such as P. baini, P. minor, and P. vanderbyli, however, they have all since been recognised as referable to other species (such as Glanosuchus and Pristerognathoides) or are too dubious to determine. As such, P. polyodon is the only definitive species of Pristerognathus.^[2]

See also

• List of therapsids