Tangasaurus
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Tangasaurus Temporal range: Late Permian, 252.5–251 Ma |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Neodiapsida |
| Family: | †Tangasauridae |
| Genus: |
†Tangasaurus Haughton, 1924 |
| Type species | |
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†Tangasaurus mennelli Haughton, 1924 |
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Tangasaurus is an extinct genus of aquatic basal tangasaurid neodiapsid known from the Late Permian period (late Changhsingian stage) of Tanga, northeastern Tanzania. It contains a single species, Tangasaurus mennelli.
Tangasaurus is known only from three syntypes which represent two individuals. The small individual, which is well preserved in two specimens (part and counterpart) and is known from a partial skull and a nearly complete postcranial skeleton, was designated as the lectotype of the genus. The part slab (showing the partial skull and postcranial) is hosted at the Bulawayo Museum, Zimbabwe, while the counterpart slab SAM 6231 (showing the other side of the postcranial) is hosted at the South African Museum, Cape town. The third syntype, SAM 6232, represents a nearly complete postcranial skeleton from a larger individual, but it is poorly preserved.
All specimens were collected by F. P. Mennell in 1922 at the Mizimbazi River near Tanga City, northeastern Tanzania. They were collected from the Ruhuhu Valley, in the middle part of the Tanga beds, dating to the late Changhsingian stage of the Lopingian series, about 252.5–251 million years ago. Although Mennell reported a presence of eight nearly complete individuals from that site, subsequent work couldn't find any evidence for the missing 6 individuals. Mennell's report, alongside some reptilian fragments that were discovered in 1913 and reported by Janensch (1927), are the only reptilian fossils currently known from the Tanga beds.
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