Cherninia Explained

Cherninia is an extinct genus of mastodonsaurid temnospondyl. The type species, Cherninia denwai, is known from the Denwa Formation of India. It is based on a massive skull, ISI A 54, which was originally considered a species of Parotosuchus in 1998^[1] before being given its own genus in 2001.^[2]

Another species, Cherninia megarhina, is known from the Upper Ntawere Formation of Zambia. C. megarhina is based on another large skull, BP/1/4223, which had also been previously referred to Parotosuchus.^{[3] [4]} Though not as well-preserved as the skull of C. denwai, BP/1/4233 was described earlier in 1974. It was described by Sharon Chernin, a paleontologist at the Bernard Price Institute and the namesake of the genus.^{[5] [6]}

Notes and References

1. Mukherjee. Ram Narayan. Sengupta. Dhurjati Prasad. 1998-01-01. New capitosaurid amphibians from the Triassic Denwa Formation of the Satpura Gondwana Basin, central India. Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology. 22. 4. 317–327. 10.1080/03115519808619330. 0311-5518.
2. Damiani. Ross J.. 2001-12-01. A systematic revision and phylogenetic analysis of Triassic mastodonsauroids (Temnospondyli: Stereospondyli). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. en. 133. 4. 379–482. 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2001.tb00635.x. 0024-4082. free.
3. Damiani. Ross J.. 2001. Cranial anatomy of the giant Middle Triassic temnospondyl Cherninia megarhina and a review of feeding in mastodonsaurids. Palaeontologia Africana. 37. 41–52.
4. Peecook. Brandon R.. Steyer. J. Sébastien. Tabor. Neil J.. Smith. Roger M. H.. 2017-11-29. Updated geology and vertebrate paleontology of the Triassic Ntawere Formation of northeastern Zambia, with special emphasis on the archosauromorphs. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 37. sup1. 8–38. 10.1080/02724634.2017.1410484. 133878741. 0272-4634.
5. Chernin. Sharon. 1974. Capitosaurid amphibians from the Upper Luangwa Valley, Zambia. Palaeontologia Africana. 17. 29–55.
6. Chernin. S.. Cosgriff. J.W.. 1975. Further consideration of the capitosaurids from the Upper Luangwa Valley, Zambia. Palaeontologia Africana. 18. 143–148.