Erythrotherium (meaning "red beast") is an extinct genus of basal mammaliaforms from the Late Triassic to Lower Jurassic. It is related to Morganucodon. Only one species is recorded, Erythrotherium parringtoni, from Red Beds, Stormberg Group, Mafeteng, Upper Elliot and Clarens Formations, from Lesotho and South Africa.

Erythrotherium
Temporal range: 210–182 Ma
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Synapsida
Clade: Therapsida
Clade: Cynodontia
Clade: Mammaliaformes
Order: Morganucodonta
Family: Morganucodontidae
Genus: Erythrotherium
Crompton, 1964
Type species
Erythrotherium parringtoni
Crompton, 1964[1]

The single jaw of Erythrotherium was found in the matrix surrounding a dinosaur fossil, by the person preparing the dinosaur, Mr C. Gow.[1]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Crompton A. W. (1964). A preliminary description of a new mammal from the Upper Triassic of South Africa. Zoological Society of London, Proceedings 142: 441–452.