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A new burnetiid from the middle Permian of Zambia and a reanalysis of burnetiamorph relationships
Author(s) -
Kammerer Christian F.,
Sidor Christian A.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
papers in palaeontology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.827
H-Index - 15
ISSN - 2056-2802
DOI - 10.1002/spp2.1341
Subject(s) - taxon , boss , clade , phylogenetic tree , character (mathematics) , morphology (biology) , paleontology , skull , biology , phylogenetics , zoology , evolutionary biology , geography , mathematics , geometry , biochemistry , materials science , gene , metallurgy
A new taxon of burnetiamorph therapsid, Mobaceras zambeziense gen. et sp. nov., is described on the basis of a partial skull recovered from the lower Madumabisa Mudstone Formation (Guadalupian) of Zambia. This taxon can be distinguished from all previously known burnetiamorphs by its unique cranial boss morphology, including a bulbous nasal boss on a ‘stalk’ and highly discretized, exaggerated anterior and posterior supraorbital bosses. Burnetiamorph phylogeny has recently become contentious; here, support for conflicting phylogenetic topologies is evaluated on a character‐by‐character basis and a revised phylogenetic analysis is presented. The clades Burnetiamorpha and Burnetiidae are supported with their traditional composition, including genera (viz. Bullacephalus and Pachydectes ) recently assigned to a separate family (Bullacephalidae, here considered synonymous with Burnetiidae). The traditional dichotomy within Burnetiidae into Burnetiinae and Proburnetiinae is upheld, with Mobaceras recovered as a burnetiine, along with Bullacephalus , Burnetia , Niuksenitia , and Pachydectes .