Pelanomodon
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Pelanomodon Temporal range: Late Permian, 259–252 Ma |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Synapsida |
| Order: | Therapsida |
| Infraorder: | †Dicynodontia |
| Family: | †Geikiidae |
| Genus: |
†Pelanomodon Broom, 1938 |
| Species | |
Pelanomodon is an extinct, genus of Dicynodont therapsids that lived in the Late Permian period. Fossil evidence of this genus is principally found in the Karoo Basin of South Africa, in the Dicynodon Assemblage Zone. Lack of fossil record after the Late Permian era suggests that Pelanomodon fell victim to the Permian-Triassic extinction event.
The name Pelanomodon can be broken up into three parts; “pelos” meaning mud, “anomo” meaning irregular and “odon” meaning tooth. Together, this suggests Pelanomodon to be a mud dwelling anomodont (a group of theraspids that are characterized by their lack of teeth). The Karoo Basin during this period was characterized by its extensive flood plains, so to hypothesize a mud based habitat for this genus is not far fetched.
Pelanomodon is in the Geikiidae family along with Aulacephalodon and Geikia. Aulacephalodon is believed to have lived alongside Pelanomodon in the Karoo Basin, where as records of Geikia have been discovered in Scotland and Tanzania. Pelanomodon is primarily characterized and distinguished from Aulacephalodon by its lack of tusks. Other crananial features have been used by paleontologists to establish two species of Pelanomodon; P. moschops and P. rubidgei. However, recent analysis points to the conclusion that these may in fact the same species.
The fossil record of Pelanomodon has thus far been restricted to the Karoo Basin in Southern Africa. This region chronicles constant sediment accumulation from the Carboniferous period and into the Jurassic period. Pelanomodon, along with other dicynodonts are predominantly found as a part of the Beaufort Group. The Beaufort Group geological strata ranges from the middle Permian to middle Triassic period. Sedimentary analysis suggests that during this time the region was characterized by the extensive flood plains of a few large rivers. The climate during the late Permian period, in this region was semi-arid and rainfall was seasonal. This climate, combined with the important role that rivers played in establishing the environment, allowed for a variety of riparian vegetation to grow, which in turn lead to a high diversity of animals that were all able to fill a different niche. In fact, dicynodonts have been found to be the most abundant therapsid in this range.
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