Cryptodontia Explained

Cryptodontia is a group of dicynodont therapsids that includes the families Geikiidae, Oudenodontidae, and Rhachiocephalidae. It was first named in 1860 by English paleontologist Richard Owen. Owen intended Cryptodontia to be a family, and the name was later changed to "Cryptodontidae" to reflect this ranking. The name Cryptodontia was restored in 2009 when it was redefined as a larger clade containing several families of dicynodonts.[1]

Classification

Below is a cladogram from Kammerer et al. (2011) showing the phylogenetic placement of Cryptodontia:

Notes and References

  1. Kammerer . C.F. . Angielczyk, K.D. . 2009 . A proposed higher taxonomy of anomodont therapsids . Zootaxa . 2018 . 1–24 .