''Procolophon'' is a genus of lizard-like procolophonid

parareptiles Parareptilia ("at the side of reptiles") is a subclass or clade of basal sauropsids (reptiles), typically considered the sister taxon to Eureptilia (the group that likely contains all living reptiles and birds). Parareptiles first arose near t ...

that first appeared in the Early Triassic ( Induan) of South Africa, Brazil, and Antarctica. It persisted through the Permian–Triassic extinction event, but went extinct in the beginning of the Early Middle Triassic. The type species is ''P. trigoniceps''.

History of discovery

The first ''Procolophon'' fossil was discovered in the 1870s in Donnybrook, an area southwest of

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu ...

in present-day Kwa-Zulu Natal of South Africa. The fossil was accessioned to

Harry Seeley Harry Govier Seeley (18 February 1839 – 8 January 1909) was a British paleontologist. Early life Seeley was born in London on 18 February 1839, the second son of Richard Hovill Seeley, a goldsmith, and his second wife Mary Govier. When his fat ...

, who described the fossil in 1878. Numerous other fossils have been recovered since from localities across the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

and Free State provinces of South Africa.

Description

''Procolophon'' reached a length up to , and is considered to have been a small

herbivore A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...

insectivore A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores wer ...

. The skull of ''Procolophon'' is distinct because of its latero-posteriorly facing paired cheek spikes, along with spiked dermal

ossicles The ossicles (also called auditory ossicles) are three bones in either middle ear that are among the smallest bones in the human body. They serve to transmit sounds from the air to the fluid-filled labyrinth (cochlea). The absence of the auditory ...

. Paleontologists debate the function of the cheek spikes. Some paleontologists posit that the bony protrusions were points for muscle attachments. ''Procolophon'' also had large eyes, and may have had acute night vision. Its teeth were peg-like and suitable for crushing plant matter. The front of the skull was short and blunt with the nasal opening very close to the mouth.

Classification

''Procolophon'' is a

basal Basal or basilar is a term meaning ''base'', ''bottom'', or ''minimum''. Science * Basal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location for features associated with the base of an organism or structure * Basal (medicine), a minimal level that is nec ...

member of Procolophonidae, a

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

that are closely related to larger, more

derived Derive may refer to: * Derive (computer algebra system), a commercial system made by Texas Instruments * ''Dérive'' (magazine), an Austrian science magazine on urbanism *Dérive, a psychogeographical concept See also * *Derivation (disambiguatio ...

parareptiles such as the

pareiasaur Pareiasaurs (meaning "cheek lizards") are an extinct clade of large, herbivorous parareptiles. Members of the group were armoured with scutes which covered large areas of the body. They first appeared in southern Pangea during the Middle Permian, ...

, '' Bradysaurus''. Procolophonids are also related to mesosaurids and millerettids. ''Procolophon'' is also considered to share a sister-taxon relationship with '' Tichvinskia'', a procolophonid from the lower Triassic of Russia.

Correlation

''Procolophon'' occupied a wide geographic range. Fossils of the genus were found in the ''Lystrosaurus'' Assemblage Zone of the Katberg and Normandien Formations of South Africa, to the

Sanga do Cabral Formation The Sanga do Cabral Formation is an Early Triassic sedimentary rock formation found in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.Paraná Basin in eastern Brazil, to the Fremouw Formation of the Transantarctic Mountains. Numerous

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

and sister taxa are also found in the lower Triassic ( Induan) of Germany,

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, and Russia.

References

{{Portal bar, Paleontology Procolophonines Permian reptiles Triassic parareptiles Lopingian first appearances Late Triassic extinctions Late Triassic reptiles of Africa Triassic South Africa Fossils of South Africa Beaufort Group Prehistoric reptiles of Antarctica Triassic Antarctica Fossils of Antarctica Triassic reptiles of South America Triassic Brazil Fossils of Brazil Paraná Basin Fossil taxa described in 1876 Taxa named by Richard Owen Prehistoric reptile genera