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Rhachiocephalidae
Taxonomy
Rhachiocephalidae was named by Maisch (2000). It is not extant. It was considered monophyletic by Maisch (2000).
It was reranked as the unranked clade Rhachiocephalidae by Kammerer and Angielczyk (2009).
It was assigned to Pristerodontia by Maisch (2000); and to Cryptodontia by Kammerer and Angielczyk (2009).
It was reranked as the unranked clade Rhachiocephalidae by Kammerer and Angielczyk (2009).
It was assigned to Pristerodontia by Maisch (2000); and to Cryptodontia by Kammerer and Angielczyk (2009).
Subtaxa
Synonyms
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Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 1932 | Dicynodon tealei Haughton pp. 641-642 fig. 5 |
| 2000 | Rhachiocephalidae Maisch |
| 2009 | Rhachiocephalidae Kammerer and Angielczyk |
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If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.
Unr. †Rhachiocephalidae Maisch 2000
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G. †Kitchinganomodon Maisch 2002
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†Kitchinganomodon crassus Broom 1948
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Invalid names: Platycyclops acutirostris Broom and George 1950 [synonym], Platycyclops pricei Broom and George 1950 [synonym]
G. †Rhachiocephalus Seeley 1898
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†Rhachiocephalus behemoth Maisch 2005
†Rhachiocephalus magnus Owen 1876
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Invalid names: Dicynodon scheepersi Broom 1948 [synonym], Eocyclops longus Broom 1913 [synonym], Kitchingia planifrons Broom and George 1950 [synonym], Megacyclops rugosus Haughton 1932 [synonym], Megacyclops usiliensis von Huene 1942 [synonym], Megacyclops whaitsi Broom 1931 [synonym], Neomegacyclops cyclops Boonstra 1953 [synonym], Pelanomodon wesselsi Broom 1948 [synonym], Rhachiocephalus angusticeps Broom 1937 [synonym], Rhachiocephalus haughtoni Broom 1932 [synonym]
Invalid names: Dicynodon tealei Haughton 1932 [nomen dubium]
Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| M. W. Maisch 2000 | Adult skull lenght exceeds 50 cm, large nasal and prefrontal protuberances, no maxillary tusks or postcanine teeth, wide intertemporal skull roof with narrow exposure of the parietals, very large, rounded nares reaching close to the alveolar margin of the snout, well-ossified to hyperossified braincase with shortened basicranial axis, large bony boss surrounding foramen parietale. | |
| C. F. Kammerer and K. D. Angielczyk 2009 | As currently defined, Rhachiocephalidae includes only the genera Rhachiocephalus Seeley, 1898, and Kitchinganomodon Maisch, 2002b. The latter taxon has only been ncluded in one phylogenetic analysis (Maisch 2002a). Therefore, in addition to listing autapomorphies from the analyses of Angielczyk (2007), Fröbisch (2007), and Fröbisch & Reisz (2008), we also include autapomorphies identified by Maisch (2002a) in the Appendix. A single autapomorphy of Rhachiocephalidae is recognized in common by Maisch (2002a), Angielczyk (2007), Fröbisch (2007), and Fröbisch & Reisz (2008): (1) parietal foramen surrounded by a strong, often rugose boss. Maisch (2002b, 2003, 2004) provided the most recent diagnoses for Rhachiocephalus, Kitchinganomodon, and Rhachiocephalidae itself. The robust boss surrounding the large, often forward-facing parietal foramen figures prominently in the diagnoses, as does a greater degree of braincase ossification than is typically seen in dicynodonts. |
Measurements
No measurements are available
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| Source: o = order, c = class, subp = subphylum, uc = unranked clade | |||||
| References: Carroll 1988, Hendy et al. 2009, Kiessling 2004, Benton 1983 | |||||
Age range: Wuchiapingian or 259.51000 to 254.14000 Ma
Collections (20 total)
| Time interval | Ma | Country or state | Original ID and collection number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wuchiapingian | Tanzania (Ruvuma) | Dicynodon tealei, Megacyclops usiliensis, Neomegacyclops cyclops (178128) Megacyclops rugosus (180461) Rhachiocephalus behemoth, Platypodosaurus magnus (181520) Rhachiocephalus magnus (135700) | |
| Wuchiapingian | South Africa (Northern Cape) | Rhachiocephalus magnus (178523) | |
| Wuchiapingian | Zambia | Kitchinganomodon crassus (185603) | |
| Wuchiapingian | South Africa (Western Cape) | Dicynodon scheepersi, Pelanomodon wesselsi (180462) Eocyclops longus (180347) Kitchingia planifrons (179072) Platycyclops rubidgei (174736) Rhachiocephalus magnus (181609) | |
| Wuchiapingian | South Africa (Eastern Cape) | Dicynodon scheepersi (178113) Megacyclops whaitsi (80826) Oudenodon magnus (177585) Platycyclops crassus, Platycyclops haughtoni (144272) Platycyclops haughtoni (179335) Platycyclops latirhinus (174626) Platycyclops pricei (179482) | |
| Wuchiapingian - Changhsingian | South Africa (Free State) | Rhachiocephalus angusticeps (179328) | |
| Wuchiapingian - Changhsingian | South Africa (Eastern Cape) | Platycyclops acutirostris (89863) |