Protopyknosia

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Protopyknosia
Temporal range: Late Triassic,
~229–211 Ma Carnian-Norian
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Archosauromorpha
Clade: Archosauriformes
Clade: Protopyknosia
Nesbitt et al., 2021
Genera

Protopyknosia is an extinct clade of archosauriform reptiles from the Late Triassic of India and the United States. First identified by Sterling Nesbitt et al. in 2021,[1] the clade contains two genera: Kranosaura and Triopticus. Members of Protopyknosia characteristically have an unusually domed head reminiscent of the later pachycephalosaurian dinosaurs in an example of convergent evolution.[2]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Nesbitt, S. J.; Stocker, M. R.; Chatterjee, S.; Horner, J. R.; Goodwin, M. B. (2021). "A remarkable group of thick-headed Triassic Period archosauromorphs with a wide, possibly Pangean distribution". Journal of Anatomy. 239 (1): 184–206. doi:10.1111/joa.13414. PMC 8197959. PMID 33660262.
  2. ^ Stocker, M.R.; Nesbitt, S.J.; Criswell, K.E.; Parker, W.G.; Witmer, L.M.; Rowe, T.B.; Ridgely, R.; Brown, M.A. (2016). "A Dome-Headed Stem Archosaur Exemplifies Convergence among Dinosaurs and Their Distant Relatives". Current Biology. 26 (19): 2674–2680. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2016.07.066. PMID 27666971.