Two Cynodonts from the Ntawere formation in the Luangwa valley of Northern Rhodesia

Abstract

Two Cynodonts, Diademodon rhodesiensis sp. nov. and Luangwa drysdalli gen. et sp. nov., are described in this paper. In structure both forms indicate that the Ntawere Formation in the upper Luangwa valley of Northern Rhodesia from which they were collected can be regarded as very late Cynognathus-zone, perhaps mostly Molteno, compared with the South African succession, or of the same age as the Manda Beds of the more nearby Ruhuhu valley of Tanganyika. The Diademodon specimen is very similar to its South African relatives, but in some details it is more advanced. The new genus Luangwa has its closest ally in the Ruhuhu form Scalenodon.