[dinosaur] Styracocephalus (Dinocephalia) cranial morphology (free pdf)

Ben Creisler
[email protected]

A new paper in open access:

Free pdf:

Simon W. Fraser-King, Julien Benoit,  Michael O. Day & Bruce S. Rubidge
(2019)
Cranial morphology and phylogenetic relationship of the enigmatic
dinocephalian Styracocephalus platyrhynchus from the Karoo Supergroup,
South Africa.
Palaeontologia africana 54: 14–29
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Styracocephalus platyrhynchus is an unusual dinocephalian therapsid, known
only from a handful of specimens from the Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone of
South Africa. It has had a chequered taxonomic history, largely because it
is characterized by cranial pachyostosis and the presence of horn-like
structures that project posteriorly from the temporal region; these
features are found in the clades Burnetiamorpha and Dinocephalia. Its
affinities have been further obfuscated by a lack of well-preserved
material. This paper presents a description of a well-preserved skull
referable to Styracocephalus from the western Karoo Basin and provides a
revised generic diagnosis for the genus. This study – incorporating
comparative anatomy,CT scanning, and cladistic analysis – reveals new
character information that was not evident from pre-existing
Styracocephalus material, and incorporates this into a new phylogenetic
analysis. Our analysis recovers Styracocephalidae as a well-supported,
monotypic family within Tapinocephalia, which is characterized by:
prominent pachyostotic nasal and supraorbital bosses; two posteriorly
projecting crest-like protuberances comprising contributions by the
postorbital, squamosal and tabular bones; weak lingual heels on the incisor
and postcanine dentition present with a moderate upper and lower canine. As
Styracocephalus is restricted to the upper part of the Tapinocephalus
Assemblage Zone, it may be a useful biostratigraphic index taxon in future.

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