Santacruzgnathus
| Santacruzgnathus Temporal range:
| |
|---|---|
| Photos and drawings of the holotype | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Synapsida |
| Clade: | Therapsida |
| Clade: | Cynodontia |
| Clade: | Prozostrodontia |
| Genus: | †Santacruzgnathus Martinelli et al., 2016 |
| Species: | †S. abdalai
|
| Binomial name | |
| †Santacruzgnathus abdalai Martinelli et al., 2016
| |
Santacruzgnathus is an extinct genus of small cynodonts from the Late Triassic (Carnian) Santacruzodon Assemblage Zone of Brazil. It contains one species, S. abdalai. Santacruzgnathus is known from a single partial lower jaw with four postcanine teeth, only one of which is well-preserved. Some features of the specimen, including the slender shape of the jaw and the incipiently double-rooted teeth, indicate that the animal was an early member of Prozostrodontia, a group that includes mammals and their close relatives.