Ianthodon
Ianthodon
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Ianthodon

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Ianthodon
Temporal range: Pennsylvanian,
~304 Ma
I. schultzei cranial and skeletal reconstruction
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Synapsida
Clade: Eupelycosauria
Clade: Metopophora
Clade: Haptodontiformes
Genus: Ianthodon
Kissel & Reisz, 2004
Type species
Ianthodon schultzei
Kissel & Reisz, 2004
Holotype KUVP 133735

Ianthodon is an extinct genus of basal haptodontiform synapsids from the Late Carboniferous about 304 million years ago. The taxon was discovered and named by Kissel & Reisz in 2004.[1] The only species in the taxon, Ianthodon schultzei, was found by separating it from a block that also contained the remains of Petrolacosaurus and was initially thought to contain elements of Haptodus. The evolutionary significance of the taxon was not realized until a publication in 2015.[2] The fossil of this organism was discovered in Garnett, Kansas.[2]

Description

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Ianthodon was first named by Kissel & Reisz in 2004;[1] elements on the holotype slab reidentified as Ianthodon provided more details in 2014.[2] This single juvenile skeleton with delicate bones has an estimated skull length of around 10 cm, which is similar to other taxa, such as Haptodus,[3] during the same development stage.[1][4] The specimen was easily distinguished from the skeletal element of Petrolacosaurus[5] by the position and the proportion of foramen and supinator process in the humeri.

Skull

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It can be distinguished from Haptodus[3][6] by its narrower skull and dentition. The higher number of precanine maxillary teeth and the more rectangular shape of the humerus distinguish the holotype of H. garnettensis[5] from that of Ianthodon. The teeth of Ianthodon have wide bases but slender crowns, unusual among contemporary amniotes and indicating that Ianthodon occupied a different trophic niche from the bulbous-crowned Haptodus to which it was closely related.[6] Like other sphenacodonts, Ianthodon has a tall lacrimal bone, and so would have had a proportionally taller snout than more basal synapsids such as varanopids and eothyridids.[2][7]

Classification

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Ianthodon belongs to the clade Sphenacodontia within the clade Sphenacomorpha. Ianthodon has been considered the basalmost-known sphenacodont.[2] The cladogram below follows a cladistic analysis by Spindler and colleagues, 2014.[2]

See also

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References

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