Thliptosaurus

rdf:langString Thliptosaurus

rdf:langString Kammerer, 2019

rdf:langString Thliptosaurus

rdf:langString Photograph and diagram of the holotype skull of Thliptosaurus.

rdf:langString Kammerer, 2019

rdf:langString imperforatus

rdf:langString Thliptosaurus (meaning "compressed lizard") is an extinct genus of small kingoriid dicynodont from the latest Permian period of the Karoo Basin in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It contains the type and only known species T. imperforatus. Thliptosaurus is from the upper Daptocephalus Assemblage Zone, making it one of the youngest Permian dicynodonts known, living just prior to the Permian mass extinction. It also represents one of the few small bodied dicynodonts to exist at this time, when most other dicynodonts had large body sizes and many small dicynodonts (such as Diictodon) had gone extinct. The unexpected discovery of Thliptosaurus in a region of the Karoo outside of the historically sampled localities suggests that it may have been part of an endemic local fauna not found in these historic sites. Such under-sampled localities may contain 'hidden diversities' of Permian faunas that are unknown from traditional samples. Thliptosaurus is also unusual for dicynodonts as it lacks a pineal foramen, suggesting that it played a much less important role in thermoregulation than it did for other dicynodonts. While the name literally translates to "compressed lizard", referring to the severely crushed and flattened skull of the only known specimen, it also alludes to the Biblical thlipsis, a time of tribulation and hardship preceding the End Times, alluding to the existence of Thliptosaurus just before the mass extinction at the end of the Permian, also known as the Great Dying.