Redescription of the Cranial Anatomy of Sphenacodon Ferox Marsh (Eupelycosauria: Sphenacodontidae) from the Late Pennsylvanian-Early Permian of New Mexico (original) (raw)

Sphenacodon is a pelycosaurian-grade synapsid, best known from the Lower Permian of Rio Arriba County, northern New Mexico. Of the two species (S. ferox and S. ferocior), S. ferox is known from comparatively little skull material, and the skulls historically assigned to the taxon are heavily reconstructed and composed of few actual cranial elements. Here, we report on a new, nearly complete skull of S. ferox that demonstrates numerous cranial differences between the two species of Sphenacodon. S. ferox has a temporal range from the Late Pennsylvanian (late Virigilian: Coyotean lvf) through the Early Permian (late Wolfcampian: Seymouran lvf), whereas S. ferocior is restricted to the Coyotean lvf, but does span the Pennsylvanian-Permian boundary. 160 FIGURE 2. Sphenacodon ferox, YPM 806, holotype of S. ferox. A, right maxilla in lateral view. B, right mandible fragment in lateral view. C, left premaxilla in lateral view. D, left maxilla in lateral view. E, left mandible in lateral view.

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