The vertebrate fauna of the Upper Permian of Niger — II, Preliminary description of a new pareiasaur
Date
2003
Authors
Sidor, Christian A.
Blackburn, David C.
Gado, Boube
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research
Abstract
The skull of a new pareiasaur, Bunostegos akokanensis gen. et sp. nov., is described on the basis of a partial skull from the Upper Permian
Moradi Formation of north-central Niger. Autapomorphies of the genus include the presence of three hemispherical bosses at the tip of
the snout, an enlarged laterally projecting supraorbital boss positioned on each postfrontal, and additional, smaller bosses on the
squamosal and supratemporal bones. Bunostegos is further characterized by a tab-like process of the nasal that articulates with the
frontal, a pineal foramen located equidistant between the parietal-frontal and parietal-postparietal sutural contacts, a postparietal that
is excluded from the caudal margin of the dorsal skull roof, and a blunt interpterygoid vacuity. The discovery of Bunostegos suggests an
unsuspected degree of biogeographic endemism for central West Africa during the Late Permian.
Description
Main article
Keywords
Permian, Moradi Formation, West Africa, Niger, Pareiasauria, Parareptilia.
Citation
None