Fossils of South Africa

Ape-like Hominid species.

Cynognathus is an extinct genus of large-bodied cynodontian therapsids that lived in the Middle Triassic. It is known from a single species, Cynognathus crateronotus. Cynognathus was a predator closely related to mammals and had a southern hemispheric distribution. Fossils have so far been recovered from South Africa, Argentina, Antarctica, and Namibia.

Hipparion is an extinct genus of three-toed, medium-sized equine belonging to the extinct tribe Hipparionini, which lived about 10-5 million years ago. While the genus formerly included most hipparionines, the genus is now more narrowly defined as hipparionines from Eurasia spanning the Late Miocene. Hipparion was a mixed-feeder who ate mostly grass, and lived in the savannah biome. Hipparion evolved from Cormohipparion, and went extinct due to environmental changes like cooling climates and decreasing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.

Lepidodendron, from Ancient Greek λεπίς (lepís), meaning "scale", and δένδρον (déndron), meaning "tree", is an extinct genus of primitive lycopodian vascular plants belonging to the order Lepidodendrales. It is well preserved and common in the fossil record. Like other Lepidodendrales, species of Lepidodendron grew as large-tree-like plants in wetland coal forest environments. They sometimes reached heights of , and the trunks were often over in diameter. They are often known as "scale trees", due to their bark having been covered in diamond-shaped leaf-bases, from which leaves grew during ear

Thrinaxodon is an extinct genus of cynodonts which lived in what are now South Africa and Antarctica during the Early Triassic. The genus contains a single species, T. liorhinus.

Megazostrodon is an extinct genus of basal mammaliaforms belonging to the order Morganucodonta. It is approximately 200 million years old. Two species are known: M. rudnerae from the Early Jurassic of Lesotho and South Africa, and M. chenali from the Late Triassic of France.

A nummulite is a large lenticular fossil, characterised by its numerous coils, subdivided by septa into chambers. They are the shells of the fossil and present-day marine protozoan Nummulites, a type of foraminiferan. Nummulites commonly vary in diameter from and are common in Eocene to Miocene marine rocks, particularly around southwest Asia and the Mediterranean in the area that once constituted the Tethys Ocean, such as Eocene limestones from Egypt or from Pakistan. Fossils up to six inches wide are found in the Middle Eocene rocks of Turkey. They are valuable as index fossils.

Mesosaurus (meaning "middle lizard") is an extinct genus of aquatic reptile from the late Early Permian (Kungurian, ~275 million years ago) of southern Africa and South America. It is the only member of the family Mesosauridae and order Mesosauria. Two other genera of mesosaurs, Brazilosaurus and Stereosternum, were formerly recognised, but are now considered synonyms of Mesosaurus. Mesosaurus contains a single valid species, M. tenuidens. Mesosaurus represents one of the earliest lineages of aquatically adapted reptiles. It had many adaptations to a fully aquatic lifestyle. Mesosaurus lived a

Glossopteris (etymology: from Ancient Greek γλῶσσα, glôssa 'tongue' + πτερίς, pterís 'fern') is the largest and best-known genus of the extinct Permian order of seed plants known as Glossopteridales (also known as Arberiales, Ottokariales, or Dictyopteridiales). The name Glossopteris refers only to leaves, within the framework of form genera used in paleobotany, used for leaves of plants belonging to the glossopterid family Dictyopteridiaceae.

Moschops (Greek for "calf face") is an extinct genus of therapsids that lived in the Guadalupian epoch, around 265–260 million years ago. They were heavily built plant eaters, and they may have lived partly in water, as hippopotamuses do. They had short, thick heads and might have competed by head-butting each other. Their elbow joints allowed them to walk with a more mammal-like gait rather than crawling. Their remains were found in the Karoo region of South Africa, belonging to the Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone. Therapsids, such as Moschops, are synapsids, the dominant land animals in the P

Euparkeria (; meaning "Parker's good animal", named in honor of W. K. Parker) is an extinct genus of archosauriform reptile from the Triassic of South Africa. Euparkeria is close to the ancestry of Archosauria, the reptile group that includes crocodilians, pterosaurs, and dinosaurs (including birds).

Diictodon (meaning "two weasel teeth") is an extinct genus of pylaecephalid dicynodont that lived during the Late Permian period, approximately 255 million years ago. Fossils have been found in the Cistecephalus Assemblage Zone of the Madumabisa Mudstone of the Luangwa Basin in Zambia and the Tropidostoma Assemblage Zone of the Teekloof Formation, Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone of the Abrahamskraal Formation, Dicynodon Assemblage Zone of the Balfour Formation, Cistecephalus Assemblage Zone of the Middleton or Balfour Formation of South Africa and the Guodikeng Formation of China. Roughly half

Procynosuchus (Greek: "Before dog crocodile" or "raccoon crocodile") is an extinct genus of cynodonts from the Late Permian. It is considered to be one of the earliest and most basal cynodonts. It was 60 cm (2 ft) long.

Kannemeyeria is a genus of dicynodont that lived during the Anisian age of Middle Triassic period in what is now Africa and South America. The generic name is given in honor of Daniel Rossouw Kannemeyer, the South African fossil collector who discovered the original specimen. It is one of the first representatives of the family, and hence one of the first large herbivores of the Triassic.

Proterosuchus is an extinct genus of archosauriform reptiles that lived during the Early Triassic. It contains three valid species: the type species P. fergusi and the referred species P. alexanderi and P. goweri. All three species lived in what is now South Africa. The genus was named in 1903 by the South African paleontologist Robert Broom. The genus Chasmatosaurus is a junior synonym of Proterosuchus.

Erythrosuchus (from , 'red' and , 'crocodile') is an extinct genus of archosauriform reptiles from the early to middle Triassic of South Africa. Remains have been found in the Cynognathus Assemblage Zone of the Beaufort Group in the Karoo of South Africa. In the Late Triassic, the ecological niche left by Erythrosuchus was filled by archosaurs including Saurosuchus and Postosuchus.

Baculites is an extinct genus of heteromorph ammonite cephalopods with almost straight shells. The genus, which lived worldwide throughout most of the Late Cretaceous, and which briefly survived the K-Pg mass extinction event, was named by Lamarck in 1799.

hominin fossil

Dinogorgon is a genus of gorgonopsid from the Late Permian of South Africa and Tanzania. The generic name Dinogorgon is derived from Greek, meaning "terrible gorgon", while its species name rubidgei is taken from the surname of renowned Karoo paleontologist, Professor Bruce Rubidge, who has contributed to much of the research conducted on therapsids of the Karoo Basin. The type species of the genus is D. rubidgei.

Eodicynodon (eo-, early or primitive, dicynodont) is an extinct genus of dicynodont therapsids, a highly diverse group of herbivorous synapsids that were widespread during the middle-late Permian and early Triassic. As its name suggests, Eodicynodon is the oldest and most primitive dicynodont yet identified, ranging from the middle to late Permian and possessing a mix of ancestral anomodont/therapsid features and derived dicynodont synapomorphies.

Favosites is an extinct genus of tabulate coral characterized by polygonal closely packed corallites (giving it the common name "honeycomb coral"). The walls between corallites are pierced by pores known as mural pores which allowed transfer of nutrients between polyps. Favosites, like many corals, thrived in warm sunlit seas, feeding by filtering microscopic plankton with their stinging tentacles and often forming part of reef complexes. The genus had a worldwide distribution from the Late Ordovician to Late Permian. ==Distribution== Favosites had a vast distribution, and its fossils can be

Procolophon (from , 'before' and , 'summit') is a genus of lizard-like procolophonid parareptiles that first appeared in the Early Triassic (Induan) of South Africa, Brazil, and Antarctica. It persisted through the Permian–Triassic extinction event, but went extinct in the beginning of the Early Middle Triassic.

Galesaurus (from the Greek roots for 'weasel' and 'lizard') is an extinct genus of carnivorous cynodont therapsid that lived between the Induan and the Olenekian stages of the Early Triassic in what is now South Africa. It was incorrectly classified as a dinosaur by Sir Richard Owen in 1859.

Rhinesuchus (meaning "rasp crocodile" for the ridged surface texture on its skull bones) is a large temnospondyl. Remains of the genus are known from the Permian of the South African Karoo Basin's Tapinocephalus and Cistecephalus assemblage zones, both belonging to the Beaufort Group. The skull of Rhinesuchus had a flat triangular shape with blunt snout similar to some of the other large temnospondyls, and had a palate filled with small sharp teeth, suggesting that it hunted fish. Also, the small eyes were on top of the head suggesting that it approached its prey from below.

species of mammal

Diademodon is an extinct genus of cynodonts. It was about long.

Endothiodon (/ɛndoʊθiːoʊdɔːn/ "inner tooth" from Greek endothi (ἔνδοθῐ), "within", and odon (ὀδών), "tooth", most likely named for the characteristic of the teeth being placed internally to the maxilla) is an extinct genus of medium to large dicynodont from the Late Permian. Like other dicynodonts, Endothiodon was an herbivore, but it typically lacked the two tusks that characterized most other dicynodonts and instead had long rows of teeth inset in the jaws that replaced in waves. The anterior portion of the upper and lower jaw are curved upward, creating a distinct beak that is thought to ha

hominin fossil

Youngina (named after John Young (1823–1900)) is an extinct genus of small, lizard-like stem-group reptile from the Late Permian Beaufort Group (Cistecephalus–Daptocephalus assemblage zones) of the Karoo Supergroup of South Africa. Youngina has been the subject of considerable scientific attention due to its basal position within Neodiapsida (having diverged before the last common ancestor of all living reptiles) and its well-preserved skulls, with Youngina seen as providing insight into the plesiomorphic (ancestral) morphology of the last common ancestor of living reptiles.

Anomocephalus is an extinct genus of primitive anomodonts and belongs to the clade Anomocephaloidea. The name is said to be derived from the Greek word anomos meaning lawless and cephalos meaning head. The proper word for head in Greek is however κεφαλή (kephalē). It is primitive in that it retains a complete set of teeth in both jaws, in contrast to its descendants, the dicynodonts, whose dentition is reduced to only a single pair of tusks (and in many cases no teeth at all), with their jaws covered by a horny beak similar to that of a modern tortoise. However, they are in no way closely rela

Ictidosuchoides is an extinct genus of ictidosuchid therocephalians. Fossils have been found from the Karoo Basin in South Africa. The genus was previously thought to have been one of the few therocephalians to have survived the Permian-Triassic extinction event in this area, but the putative early Triassic specimens have since been attributed to Promoschorhynchus.

Erythrotherium (meaning "red beast") is an extinct genus of basal mammaliaforms from the Lower Jurassic of South Africa. It is related to Morganucodon. Only one species is recorded, Erythrotherium parringtoni.

Trirachodon (Greek: "three ridge tooth") is an extinct genus of cynodonts. Fossils have been found in the Cynognathus Assemblage Zone of the Beaufort Group in South Africa and the Omingonde Formation of Namibia, dating back to the Early and Middle Triassic.

Galechirus is an extinct genus of anomodont therapsids. It was about 30 cm (1 ft) long.

Charassognathus (meaning 'notched jaw') is an extinct genus of Late Permian cynodonts. Described in 2007 from a locality near Fraserburg, South Africa, Charassognathus is one of the earliest and most basal cynodonts. It is known only from the holotype, which dates from the Late Permian Period. The type and only species is C. gracilis. The holotype (SAM-PK-K 10369), found in the Tropidostoma Assemblage Zone of the Teekloof Formation, is made up of a crushed skull, partial lower jaw and one leg.

thumb|left|H. afarense mandible

Batrachosuchus is a genus of temnospondyl that existed from the Early to Middle Triassic of southern Africa (Ntawere Formation of Zambia and Burgersdorp Formation of South Africa) and the Blina Shale of Australia. The holotype is a skull registered at the Natural History Museum UK (NHMUK PV R 3589).

Eunotosaurus (Latin: stout-backed lizard) is an extinct genus of reptile of disputed affinities. It is known from the late Middle Permian (Capitanian stage) of the Karoo Supergroup of South Africa and the Mwesia Beds of Malawi. Its ribs are wide and flat, forming broad plates similar to a primitive turtle shell, and the vertebrae are comparable to those of some turtles. Accordingly, Eunotosaurus has often been considered as a possible transitional fossil between turtles and their prehistoric ancestors. However, it is possible that these turtle-like features evolved independently of the same fe

Platycraniellus is an extinct genus of carnivorous cynodonts from the Early Triassic. It is known from the Lystrosaurus Assemblage Zone of the Normandien Formation in South Africa. P. elegans is the only species in this genus based on the holotype specimen from the Ditsong National Museum of Natural History in Pretoria, South Africa (formerly known as the Transvaal Museum). Due to limited fossil records for study, Platycraniellus has only been briefly described a handful of times.

Progalesaurus is an extinct genus of galesaurid cynodont from the early Triassic. Progalesaurus is known from a single fossil of the species Progalesaurus lootsbergensis, found in the Lystrosaurus Assemblage Zone of the Balfour Formation. Close relatives of Progalesaurus, other galesaurids, include Galesaurus and Cynosaurus. Galesaurids appeared just before the Permian-Triassic extinction event, and disappeared from the fossil record in the Middle-Triassic.

Sphenosuchus ("wedge crocodile") is an extinct genus of crocodylomorph from the Early Jurassic Elliot Formation of South Africa, discovered and described early in the 20th century. The skull is preserved very well but other than elements of the forelimb and isolated parts of the hind limb, the Sphenosuchus material is incomplete. It was probably quadrupedal, but may have been a facultative biped.

thumb|left|Restoration of C. rubidgei thumb|left|Referred skull, the holotype of Tigrisaurus pricei

Laidleria is an extinct genus of temnospondyl that likely lived between the Early to Middle Triassic, though its exact stratigraphic range is less certain. Laidleria has been found in the Karoo Basin in South Africa, in Cynognathus Zone A or B. The genus is represented by only one species, L. gracilis, though the family Laidleriidae does include other genera, such as Uruyiella, sister taxon to Laidleria, which was discovered and classified in 2007.

Uranocentrodon is an extinct genus of temnospondyls in the family Rhinesuchidae. Known from a skull, Uranocentrodon was a large predator with a length up to . Originally named Myriodon by van Hoepen in 1911, it was transferred to a new genus on account of the name being preoccupied in 1917. It has been synonymized with Rhinesuchus, but this has not been widely supported. It was also originally considered to be of Triassic age, but more recent analysis has placed its age as just below the Permian-Triassic boundary.

Ferganoceratodus (from Fergana + Ceratodus) is a genus of prehistoric freshwater lungfish known from worldwide during the Mesozoic. Based on morphological evidence, it has either been recovered as a basal member of the Ceratodontiformes or to be the sister group of the Neoceratodontidae (containing the extant Australian lungfish).

Cynosaurus is an extinct genus of cynodonts. Remains have been found from the Dicynodon Assemblage Zone in South Africa. Cynosaurus was first described by Richard Owen in 1876 as Cynosuchus suppostus. Cynosaurus has been found in the late Permian period. Cyno- is derived from the Greek word kyon for dog and –sauros in Greek meaning lizard.

Langbergia is an extinct genus of trirachodontid cynodont from the Early Triassic of South Africa. The type and only species L. modisei was named in 2006 after the farm where the holotype was found, Langberg 566. Langbergia was found in the Burgersdorp Formation in the Beaufort Group, a part of the Cynognathus Assemblage Zone. The closely related trirachodontids Trirachodon and Cricodon were found in the same area.

Lumkuia is an extinct genus of cynodont, fossils of which have been found in the Cynognathus Assemblage Zone of the Beaufort Group in the South African Karoo Basin that date back to the early Middle Triassic. It contains a single species, Lumkuia fuzzi, which was named in 2001 on the basis of the holotype specimen BP/1/2669, which can now be found at the Bernard Price Institute in Johannesburg, South Africa. The genus has been placed in its own family, Lumkuiidae. Lumkuia is not as common as other cynodonts from the same locality such as Diademodon and Trirachodon.

former Homo Capensis

Tapinocaninus (Greek for "humble"- tapino, and "canine"- caninus) is an extinct genus of therapsids in the family Tapinocephalidae, of which it is the most basal member. Only one species is known, Tapinocaninus pamelae (meaning "Pamela's humble canine"). The species is named in honor of Rubidge's mother, Pamela. Fossils have been found dating from the Middle Permian (Wordian age).

Mesosuchus ("middle crocodile") is an extinct genus of basal rhynchosaur from early Middle Triassic (early Anisian stage) deposits of Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is known from the holotype SAM 5882, a partial skeleton, and from the paratypes SAM 6046, SAM 6536, SAM 7416 and SAM 7701 from the Aliwal North Euparkeria site. Mesosuchus is quite small, spanning around 30 cm in length. Mesosuchus was discovered and named by D. M. S. Watson in 1912.

Pristerodon is an extinct genus of dicynodont therapsid from the Late Permian of South Africa, Zambia and India.

Prolacerta is a genus of archosauromorph from the lower Triassic of South Africa and Antarctica. The only known species is Prolacerta broomi. Prolacerta was a small and slender reptile, with a rather long neck, low skull, and serrated teeth. It would have resembled a modern monitor lizard at a quick glance, though this is an example of convergent evolution as opposed to close affinities.

Tritheledon is an extinct genus of cynodonts that lived during the Lower Jurassic. Fossils were found in the Elliot Formation, South Africa. Like all cynodonts, it had many traits shared by mammals. Tritheledonts were probably insectivores, and nocturnal animals.

Dinanomodon is a genus of dicynodont that lived during the Late Permian (Lopingian) of the South Africa and China. Two species are recognised, D. gilli from the Cistecephalus and Daptocephalus Assemblage Zones of the Balfour Formation, Beaufort Group, in the Karoo Basin of South Africa, and D. guoi from the Gansu Province of China.

fossil mammal species

Lobalopex (Greek for “lobe fox” – “lobos” meaning lobe and “alopex” meaning fox) is an extinct genus of biarmosuchian therapsids. It was alive during the Late Permian and has only been found in the Teekloof Formation in South Africa. The only known species of the genus is Lobalopex mordax. Lobalopex is part of the clade of Burnetiamorpha, which have fossil specimens located in multiple areas of Africa and Russia. upright|thumb|left|Lobalopex (fourth) and relatives

Dicynodontoides is a genus of small to medium-bodied, herbivorous, emydopoid dicynodonts from the Late Permian. The name Dicynodontoides references its “dicynodont-like” appearance (dicynodont = two-dog-tooth) due to the caniniform tusks featured by most members of this infraorder. Kingoria, a junior synonym, has been used more widely in the literature than the more obscure Dicynodontoides, which is similar-sounding to another distantly related genus of dicynodont, Dicynodon. Three species are recognized: D. recurvidens from South Africa, and D. nowacki and D. kubwa from Tanzania.

species of mammal

Bolotridon is an extinct genus of epicynodontian cynodont. It was renamed from its original genus designation of Tribolodon (Harry Govier Seeley, 1895), which was already occupied by a genus of cyprinid fish named in 1883 by Sauvage. The name Bolotridon was coined by Brian W. Coad in a 1977 publication as an anagram of Tribolodon.