Phonodus is an extinct genus of procolophonid parareptile. It is known from a single skull found from the Early Triassic Katberg Formation in South Africa. It is the oldest known member of the subfamily Leptopleuroninae, and was likely the result of a procolophonid migration into the Karoo Basin from Laurasia after the Permo-Triassic extinction event. Because Phonodus had large maxillary teeth underneath a large antorbital buttress (a bony prominence in front of the eye), and a lack of ventral temporal emargination along the side of the skull, it probably had a durophagous diet.[1]

Phonodus
Temporal range: Early Triassic
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Parareptilia
Order: Procolophonomorpha
Family: Procolophonidae
Subfamily: Leptopleuroninae
Genus: Phonodus
Modesto et al., 2010
Type species
Phonodus dutoitorum
Modesto et al., 2010

Phylogeny

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A cladogram after Modesto et al. (2010):[1]

Leptopleuroninae

References

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  1. ^ a b Modesto, S.P.; Scott, D.M.; Botha-Brink, J.; Reisz, R.R. (2010). "A new and unusual procolophonid parareptile from the Lower Triassic Katberg Formation of South Africa". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 30 (3): 715–723. Bibcode:2010JVPal..30..715M. doi:10.1080/02724631003758003. S2CID 84563475.