Nochnitsa

Name: Nochnitsa ‭(‬named after the Nocnitsa from Slavic mythology‭)‬.
Phonetic: Nok-nit-sah.
Named By: C.‭ ‬F.‭ ‬Kammerer‭ & ‬V.‭ ‬Masyutin‭ ‬-‭ ‬2018.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Therapsida,‭ ‬Gorgonopsia.
Species: N.‭ ‬geminidens‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Skull‭ ‬8.2‭ ‬centimetres long.
Known locations: Russia,‭ ‬Urpalov Formation.
Time period: Permian.
Fossil representation: Skull and partial post cranial remains.

       With a skull a little over eight centimetres long Nochnitsa is one of the smallest known grogonopsian therapsids known.‭ ‬Whereas the larger gorgonopsids were apex predators,‭ ‬Nochnitsa may have lived more like a modern day fox,‭ ‬hunting smaller creatures while evading the more dangerous ones.

Further reading
-‭ ‬Gorgonopsian therapsids‭ (‬Nochnitsa gen.‭ ‬nov.‭ ‬and Viatkogorgon‭) ‬from the Permian Kotelnich locality of Russia.‭ ‬-‭ ‬PeerJ‭ ‬6:e4954.‭ ‬-‭ ‬C.‭ ‬F.‭ ‬Kammerer‭ & ‬V.‭ ‬Masyutin‭ ‬-‭ ‬2018.

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