Procolophon
Name:
Procolophon
(Before the end).
Phonetic: Pro-col-o-fon.
Named By: Ricahrd Owen - 1876.
Synonyms: Procolophon baini, Procolophon
cuneiceps, Procolophon griersoni, Procolophon laticeps,
Procolophon minor, Procolophon platyrhinus, Procolophon
sphenorhinus.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia,
Procolophonomorpha, Procolophonidae.
Species: P. trigoniceps
(type). Possibly also P. brasiliensis and P.
pricei, though these have been considered to be synonyms
to the type species.
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: Up to about 30 centimetres long.
Known locations: Antarctica - Fremouw
Formation, Brazil - Sanga do Cabral Formation, and South
Africa - Katberg Formation, Normandien Formation.
Time period: Induan to Olenkian of the Triassic.
Fossil representation: Many individuals.
Procolophon
is the type genus of the Procolophonidae, a group of parareptiles
that first appeared in the Permian period and survived until at least
the late Triassic. Procolophonidae had a fairly squat body with short
but powerful limbs. This form is widely believed to have been that of
a burrowing lizard which either dug burrows to have a safe retreat from
predators, or perhaps dug down to feed upon the roots and tubers of
plants.
The
rear of the skull of Procolophon is broad and
formed so that it had a
rough spikey appearance in life, a feature that is one of the
signature features of the Procolophonidae. These growths may have
been a form of predator defence or perhaps more simply there for the
purpose of display. Later genera such as Hypsognathus
would develop
the spikes even further, again possibly for the purpose of
inter-species recognition.
Further reading
- On the remains of Procolophon in the Albany
Museum - Robert
Broom - 1903.
- Notes on the Localities of some type specimens of the Karroo Fossil
Reptiles - Robert Broom - 1905.
- The Triassic Reptile Procolophon in Antarctica
- E. H.
Colbert & J. W. Kitching - 1979.
- Procolophon pricei sp. n., um novo r�ptil
procolofon�deo do
Tri�ssico do Rio Grande do Sul - E. L. Lavina - 1983.
- Procolophon brasiliensis n. sp., a new
procolophonid reptile
from the Lower Triassic of southern Brazil - J. C. Cisneros
& C. L. Schultz - 2002.
- New basal procolophonid reptile from the Katberg formation (Lower
Triassic) of the South African Karoo - J. C. Cisneros -
2008.
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