''Nshimbodon'' is an extinct genus of basal

cynodont Cynodontia () is a clade of eutheriodont therapsids that first appeared in the Late Permian (approximately 260 Megaannum, mya), and extensively diversified after the Permian–Triassic extinction event. Mammals are cynodonts, as are their extin ...

s belonging to the family

Charassognathidae Charassognathidae is an extinct family of basal cynodonts known from the Late Permian of South Africa and Zambia. It was named in 2016 by the palaeontologist Christian F. Kammerer, who defined it as all taxa more closely related to '' Charassogna ...

. Its only known species is ''Nshimbodon muchingaensis'', which was named in 2020 based on remains discovered in the

Late Permian Late or LATE may refer to: Everyday usage * Tardy, or late, not being on time * Late (or the late) may refer to a person who is dead Music * ''Late'' (The 77s album), 2000 * Late (Alvin Batiste album), 1993 * Late!, a pseudonym used by Dave Groh ...

-aged Madumabisa Mudstone Formation of

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

. It is known from a single specimen, which consists of a partial

skull The skull, or cranium, is typically a bony enclosure around the brain of a vertebrate. In some fish, and amphibians, the skull is of cartilage. The skull is at the head end of the vertebrate. In the human, the skull comprises two prominent ...

and several postcranial bones, including parts of the

shoulder girdle The shoulder girdle or pectoral girdle is the set of bones in the appendicular skeleton which connects to the arm on each side. In humans, it consists of the clavicle and scapula; in those species with three bones in the shoulder, it consists o ...

and forelimbs.

References

Charassognathidae Lopingian synapsids of Africa Fossils of Zambia Fossil taxa described in 2020 {{Paleo-cynodont-stub