Protopyknosia Explained

Protopyknosia is an extinct clade of archosauriform reptiles from the Late Triassic of India and the United States. First identified by Sterling Nesbitt et al. in 2021,^[1] the clade contains two genera: Kranosaura and Triopticus. Members of Protopyknosia characteristically have an unusually domed head reminiscent of the later pachycephalosaurian dinosaurs in an example of convergent evolution.^[2]

Notes and References

1. Nesbitt. S. J. . Stocker . M. R. . Chatterjee . S. . Horner . J. R. . Goodwin . M. B. . 2021 . A remarkable group of thick-headed Triassic Period archosauromorphs with a wide, possibly Pangean distribution . . 239 . 1 . 184–206 . 10.1111/joa.13414 . 33660262 . 8197959 .
2. M.R. . Stocker . S.J. . Nesbitt . K.E. . Criswell . W.G. . Parker . L.M. . Witmer . T.B. . Rowe . R. . Ridgely . M.A. . Brown . A Dome-Headed Stem Archosaur Exemplifies Convergence among Dinosaurs and Their Distant Relatives . Current Biology . 10.1016/j.cub.2016.07.066 . 2016 . 26 . 19 . 2674–2680 . 27666971. free .