China fossil unveils cross-equator migration corridor in supercontinent Pangaea
Remains of a new dicynodont species dating back over 250 million years link China and South Africa, suggesting passage of large animals
The new species of dicynodont, an extinct clade of non-mammalian therapsids – a group that includes mammals, their ancestors and close relatives – was identified by researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP).
“A new dicynodont species, Dinanomodon guoi, is established based on a specimen collected in Gulang county, Gansu province, China,” the team said in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Cladistics on December 15.
“This discovery marks the first bidentalian genus shared between China and South Africa.”
Dicynodonts – considered a “cousin” to today’s mammals – were a herbivorous clade of mostly toothless animals that ranged in size from small burrowers to large grazers. Bidentalians are a specific group of dicynodonts.