Pristerodon

Name: Pristerodon.
Phonetic: Pris-teh-ro-don.
Named By: Thomas Henry Huxley - 1868.
Synonyms: Eumantellia.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Synapsida,‭ ‬Therapsida,‭ ‬Dicynodontia,‭ ‬Eumantellidae.
Species: P.‭ ‬mackayi‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: About‭ ‬70‭ ‬centimetres long.
Known locations: India‭ ‬-‭ ‬Kundaram Formation.‭ ‬South Africa‭ ‬-‭ ‬Teekloof Formation.
Time period: Capitanian to Wuchiapingian of the Permian.
Fossil representation: ‭Several individuals.

       Pristerodon is a genus of dicynodont that lived during the late Permian.‭ ‬Like relative genera,‭ ‬Pristerodon was a plant eater and likely dug out burrows on flood plains.‭ ‬Analysis of one Pristerodon has revealed the presence of an eardrum in the lower jaw.‭ ‬Not only has this given us an insight into how Pristerodon sensed their environment,‭ ‬but that as Pristerodon chewed food,‭ ‬they likely had their hearing impaired and were likely more vulnerable to predators sneaking up on them as they ate.

Further reading
-‭ ‬The origins of the cochlea and impedance matching hearing in synapsids.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Acta Palaeontologica Polonica‭ ‬60.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Michael Laaß‭ ‬-‭ ‬2015.

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