Dicynodont synapsid — Oudenodon bainii

Geologic period: Late Permian

Age: Late Permian; Smithsonian material includes specimens from the Cistecephalus assemblage-zone interval.

Feeding: Herbivorous.

Locomotion: Terrestrial quadruped.

Body plan: Robust terrestrial dicynodont with a short skull and a beak-like feeding apparatus.

Evidence: Skull form is direct evidence. Its tuskless condition is important in distinguishing it from some similar dicynodont taxa.

Why it matters: Oudenodon shows the extraordinary success and diversity of herbivorous dicynodont therapsids before the end-Permian extinction.

Plain Language Identity: A Late Permian tuskless dicynodont therapsid.

What You Are Looking At: A fossil skull of Oudenodon bainii.

Ecosystem: Late Permian terrestrial ecosystems of southern Africa.

Preservation: Fossil skull.

Formation: Beaufort Group for Smithsonian material.

Find Location: South Africa.

Research History: Oudenodon bainii has historically been difficult to separate from the very similar Tropidostoma microtrema. Morphometric and stratigraphic work supports treating them as separate species.

Open Questions: Taxonomic identification should rely on multiple cranial features rather than tusks alone.

Source Urls: https://naturalhistory.si.edu/visit/virtual-tour/current-exhibits/deep-time-virtual-tour-fossil-list; https://www.si.edu/object/nmnhpaleobiology_3450217; https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4983.2007.00697.x

Enrichment Method: SAGE curated research pass; title and scientific name matched; current research distinctions retained; evidence separated from inference

Scientific name: Oudenodon bainii

Evidence / representation: comparative_taxon_visual

comparative_taxon_visual

The Permian World: Strange Bodies and the Great Dying.

Media license: CC0

http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en