Bulbasaurus
Name:
Bulbasaurus
(bulbous lizard).
Phonetic: Bul-bah-sor-us.
Named By: C. F. Kammerer & R. M.
H. Smith - 2017.
Classification: Chordata, Therapsida,
Dicynodontia, Geikiidae.
Species: B. phylloxyron (type
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: Larger skulls up to 16 centimetres long.
Known locations: South Africa - Teekloof
Formation.
Time period: Late Permian.
Fossil representation: Skulls. Partial remains of
the post cranial skeleton.
The
type fossil of Bulbasaurus was originally assigned
to the Tropidostoma
genus of dicynodont,
but later analysis revealed it to actually be
distinct enough to warrant the creation of a new genus for it. The
new genus name Bulbasaurus is a reference to the
two boss (round bony
growth) like growths of the nasal bones that bulge out. In life a
hard and sharp keratinous beak would have grown around the tips of
the upper and lower jaws and been used for shearing through plants.
Bulbasaurus
is noted for having a lot of similarities to the genus Aulacephalodon,
yet Bulbasaurus may turn out to be a more
primitive overall form.
Further reading
- An early geikiid
dicynodont from the Tropidostoma Assemblage Zone
(late Permian) of
South Africa. - PeerJ 5(e2913). - C. F. Kammerer
& R. M. H. Smith - 2017.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Random favourites
 |
 |
|