Mupashi
| Mupashi Temporal range:
| |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Synapsida |
| Clade: | Therapsida |
| Clade: | †Therocephalia |
| Family: | †Karenitidae |
| Genus: | †Mupashi Huttenlocker & Sidor, 2016 |
| Type species | |
| †Mupashi migrator Huttenlocker & Sidor, 2016
| |
Mupashi is an extinct monotypic genus of therocephalians that lived during the Late Permian of what is now Zambia.[1]. It is represented by the single species Mupashi migrator.[2]
Description
The holotype skull was recovered from the Upper Madumabisa Mudstone in the Luangwa Basin.[3] Unlike most other therocephalians, Mupashi possessed an unusually high tooth count and a slender, elongated snout. Analysis of the scleral ring (a ring of bone found in the eye) indicates that the animal likely had a nocturnal or crepuscular lifestyle, being well-adapted to low-light environments.[2] Its discovery is significant as it represents the first member of the family Karenitidae found in Gondwana, suggesting a wider geographic distribution for this group than previously thought.[4]
References
- ^ Huttenlocker, A. K.; Sidor, C. A. (2016). "The first karenitid (Therapsida, Therocephalia) from the upper Permian of Gondwana and the biogeography of Permo-Triassic therocephalians". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. doi:10.1080/02724634.2016.1111897.
- ^ a b Huttenlocker, A. K.; Sidor, C. A. (2016). "The first karenitid (Therapsida, Therocephalia) from the upper Permian of Gondwana". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 36 (4). doi:10.1080/02724634.2016.1111897.
- ^ "Mupashi Huttenlocker and Sidor 2016 (therapsid)". Paleobiology Database. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
- ^ Angielczyk, K. D. (2014). "Permian and Triassic Anticedents of Mammalia". Earth-Science Reviews. 138: 32–54. doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2014.08.003.