| Sinokannemeyeria Temporal range: Mid Triassic | |
|---|---|
| |
| Paleoart of S. yingchaoensi by Theropsida | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Family: | Kannemeyeriidae |
| Genus: | Sinokannemeyeria |
| Type species | |
| †Sinokannemeyeria pearsoni Young, 1937 | |
| Other species | |
| |
Sinokannemeyeria is an extinct genus of large Chinese dicynodont from the Anisian stage of the Middle Triassic. Its type species is named S. pearsoni.
Description[]
Like most related animals, it possesses two large tusks jutting from its mouth, facing downward. The muscle attachment sites on the back of the skull were quite small, which suggested that Sinokannemeyeria did not have powerful skull muscles for shearing plants, unlike other dicynodonts. Most dicynodonts chopped up food by sliding their lower jaws backward and forward. Sinokannemeyeria fed by tearing plant material with the front of the snout.
Sinokannemeryia is estimated to have been about 6 feet (1.8 m) long and weighing 250 pounds.
Discovery and Naming[]
The genus was first discovered in the Shanxi Province of China, being formally described in 1937 by Yang Zhongjian (under his courtesy name Chung Chien Young), where the type species was then named Sinokannemeyeria pearsoni.
Classification[]
The exact placement of Sinokannemeyeria is debated as its family, Kannemeyeriidae, isn't monophyletic, but is placed within the clade of Kannemeyeriiformes as a type of dicynodont stem-mammal. It is rather basal compared to some others in its placed tree, but its closest relatives include Parakannemeyeria and Xiyukannemeyeria.