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Xenotosuchus africanus

Amphibia - Temnospondyli - Mastodonsauridae

Taxonomy
Capitosaurus africanus was named by Broom (1909). Its type specimen is SAM PK 2360, a partial skull (postorbital part of skull and a part of left ramus of lower jaw), and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Vaalbank Farm, Burgersdorp, which is in an Anisian terrestrial horizon in the Burgersdorp Formation of South Africa.

It was recombined as Parotosuchus africanus by Chernin (1978); it was recombined as Wellesaurus africanus by Damiani (2001); it was considered a nomen dubium by Schoch and Milner (2000); it was recombined as Xenotosuchus africanus by Morales and Shiskin (2002), Damiani and Rubidge (2003).

Synonymy list
YearName and author
1909Capitosaurus africanus Broom p. 271
1925Capitosaurus africanus Haughton p. 239
1978Parotosuchus africanus Chernin
2001Wellesaurus africanus Damiani p. 431
2002Xenotosuchus africanus Morales and Shiskin p. 3
2003Xenotosuchus africanus Damiani and Rubidge p. 26

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
—Bilateria
—EubilateriaAx 1987
—Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
—Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
—Tetrapoda
classAmphibia
RankNameAuthor
orderTemnospondyli()
—Eutemnospondyli
—Rhachitomi()
—Eryopiformes
—Stereospondylomorpha
—Stereospondyli()
—Superstes
—Capitosauria
—Capitosauroidea()
familyMastodonsauridaeLydekker 1885
genusXenotosuchus
speciesafricanus()

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

†Xenotosuchus africanus Broom 1909
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Diagnosis
No diagnoses are available
Measurements
No measurements are available
Composition: phosphaticsubp
Environment: brackish, freshwater, terrestrialuc
Locomotion: actively mobilesubo
Life habit: amphibioussubo
Diet: carnivoresubo
Dispersal: waterc
Created: 2009-07-20 21:44:54
Modified: 2009-07-20 23:44:54
Source: subo = suborder, c = class, subp = subphylum, uc = unranked clade
References: Carroll 1988, Uhen 2004, Hendy et al. 2009

Age range: Anisian or 246.70000 to 241.46400 Ma

Collections (6 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Anisian246.7 - 241.464South Africa (Free State) Xenotosuchus africanus (144341 197001)
Anisian246.7 - 241.464South Africa (Eastern Cape) Capitosaurus africanus (141537) Xenotosuchus africanus (96329 196999) Xenotosuchus africanus, Parotosaurus sp. (92312)