Early Evolutionary History of the Synapsida (eBook)

Christian F. Kammerer received his B.A. in Biological Sciences and his M.S. and PhD. in Evolutionary Biology from the University of Chicago. He has studied as a postdoctoral fellow at the American Museum of Natural History, New York and the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin. His research focuses on the systematics of Permo-Triassic synapsids and the evolutionary processes underlying the origin of mammals. Kenneth D. Angielczyk received a B.S. in Biology and Geology from the University of Michigan and a PhD. In Integrative Biology from the University of California, Berkeley. In 2007, After working as a postdoctoral researcher at the California Academy of Sciences and the University of Bristol, he was appointed as the Assistant Curator of Paleomammalogy at the Field Museum of Natural History. His research focuses on the taxonomy, phylogenetics, paleobiology, and paleoecology of dicynodont therapsids, and how terrestrial tetrapod communities were affected by the end-Permian mass extinction. Jörg Fröbisch is Professor for Paleobiology and Evolution at the Humboldt Universität and Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin. He received a Diplom (M.Sc. equivalent) in Geology/Paleontology from the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn and a PhD. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Toronto. His research focuses on the patterns of diversification, phylogeny, and paleobiology of synapsids, as well as trends in the evolution of terrestrial ecosystems and the impact of mass extinction events on terrestrial vertebrate ecosystems.

Part I. “Pelycosaur”-grade Synapsids1. IntroductionRobert R. Reisz2. New Information on the Basal Pelycosaurian-grade Synapsid OedaleopsStuart S. Sumida, Valerie Pelletier, and David S Berman3. Was Ophiacodon (Synapsida: Eupelycosauria) a Swimmer? A Test Using Vertebral DimensionsRyan N. Felice and Kenneth D. Angielczyk4. Postcranial Description and Reconstruction of the Varanodontine Varanopid Aerosaurus wellesi (Synapsida: Eupelycosauria)Valerie Pelletier5. First European Record of a Varanodontine (Synapsida: Varanopidae): Member of a Unique Early Permian Upland Paleoecosystem, Tambach Basin, Central GermanyDavid S Berman, Amy C. Henrici, Stuart S. Sumida, Thomas Martens, and Valerie Pelletier Part II. Anomodontia6. IntroductionJörg Fröbisch7. Permian and Triassic Dicynodont (Therapsida: Anomodontia) Faunas of the Luangwa Basin, Zambia: Update and Implications for Dicynodont Biogeography and BiostratigraphyKenneth D. Angielczyk, Jean-Sébastien Steyer, Christian A. Sidor, Roger M. H. Smith, Robin L. Whatley, and Stephen Tolan8. Anatomical Plasticity in the Snout of LystrosaurusSandra C. Jasinoski, Michael A. Cluver, Anusuya Chinsamy, and B. Daya Reddy9. Pathological Features in Upper Permian and Middle Triassic Dicynodonts (Synapsida, Therapsida)Cristina Silveira Vega and Michael W. Maisch Part III. Theriodontia10. IntroductionChristian F. Kammerer11. A Redescription of Eriphostoma microdon Broom, 1911 (Therapsida, Gorgonopsia) from the Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone of South Africa and a Review of Middle Permian GorgonopsiansChristian F. Kammerer12. Re-assessment of the Taxonomic Position of the Specimen GPIT/RE/7113 (Sauroctonus parringtoni comb. nov., Gorgonopsia)Eva V. I. Gebauer13. New Material of Microgomphodon oligocynus (Eutherapsida, Therocephalia) and the Taxonomy of Southern African BauriidaeFernando Abdala, Tea Jashashvili, Bruce S. Rubidge, and Juri van den Heever14. The Traversodontid Cynodont Mandagomphodon hirschsoni from the Middle Triassic of the Ruhuhu Valley, TanzaniaJames A. Hopson15. Phylogeny and Taxonomy of the TraversodontidaeJun Liu and Fernando Abdala Part IV. Therapsid Diversity Patterns and the End-Permian Extinction16. IntroductionKenneth D. Angielczyk17. Vertebrate Paleontology of Nooitgedacht 68: A Lystrosaurus maccaigi-rich Permo-Triassic Boundary Locality in South AfricaJennifer Botha-Brink, Adam K. Huttenlocker, and Sean P. Modesto18. Fröbisch, J. Synapsid Diversity and the Rock Record in the Permian-Triassic Beaufort Group (Karoo Supergroup), South AfricaJörg FröbischSubject IndexTaxonomic Index