Lobalopex

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

== Discovery == From 1923 to 1997 there were only two known specimens of burnetiid therapsids. The discovery of Lobalopex occurred in 2004, adding it to the Biarmosuchian phylogenetic tree. In 2007, three years after the discovery of Lobalopex, a partial skull of a new therapsid called Lophorhinus was found. The discovery of Lophorhinus also led researchers to prove that multiple of these burnetiamorph taxon co-existed with each other. Overall, the burnetiamorph fossil record supports a macroevolutionary relationship between cranial adornment and an increased speciation rate.