Thelephon

Thelephon; Temporal range: Middle Triassic,
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Family:	†Procolophonidae
Subfamily:	†Procolophoninae
Genus:	†Thelephon; Modesto & Damiani, 2003
Type species
	†Thelephon contritus; (Gow, 1977a [originally Thelegnathus contritus])

Thelephon is an extinct genus of procolophonine procolophonid parareptile from middle Triassic (early Anisian stage) deposits of Free State Province, South Africa. It is known from the holotype BP/1/3512, a partial skull lacking the snout and anterior third of the mandible. It was collected by the South African palaeontologist, James W. Kitching from Hugoskop in the Winnaarsbaken and referred to subzone B of the Cynognathus Assemblage Zone of the Burgersdorp Formation, Beaufort Group (Karoo Basin). It was first named by Sean P. Modesto and Ross J. Damiani in 2003 and the type species is Thelephon contritus. It was first assigned to a species of Thelegnathus (now considered to be a nomen dubium), Thelegnathus contritus.¹²

Palaeobiology

Palaeoecology

Thelephon likely fed on crayfish, as demonstrated by palaeoichnological evidence of procolophonids digging up Reniformichnus burrows in the Burgersdorp Formation.³

References

Sean P. Modesto; Ross J. Damiani (2003). "Taxonomic status of Thelegnathus browni Broom, a procolophonid reptile from the South African Triassic". Annals of Carnegie Museum. 72 (1): 53–64. doi:10.5962/p.215088.
C. E. Gow (1977). "New Procolophonids from the Triassic Cynognathus Zone of South Africa". Annals of the South African Museum. 72 (6): 109–124.
Wolvaardt, Frederik P.; Smith, Roger M.H.; Hancox, P. John; Browning, Claire; Strong, Michael (May 2026). "Palaeoenvironmental significance of vertebrate and invertebrate burrow casts in the Middle Triassic Burgersdorp Formation of the main Karoo Basin". Journal of African Earth Sciences. 237 106048. doi:10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2026.106048. Retrieved 7 March 2026 – via Elsevier Science Direct.

[ThelegnathusND-1] Sean P. Modesto; Ross J. Damiani (2003). "Taxonomic status of Thelegnathus browni Broom, a procolophonid reptile from the South African Triassic". Annals of Carnegie Museum. 72 (1): 53–64. doi:10.5962/p.215088.

[Thelegnathus-2] C. E. Gow (1977). "New Procolophonids from the Triassic Cynognathus Zone of South Africa". Annals of the South African Museum. 72 (6): 109–124.

[3] Wolvaardt, Frederik P.; Smith, Roger M.H.; Hancox, P. John; Browning, Claire; Strong, Michael (May 2026). "Palaeoenvironmental significance of vertebrate and invertebrate burrow casts in the Middle Triassic Burgersdorp Formation of the main Karoo Basin". Journal of African Earth Sciences. 237 106048. doi:10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2026.106048. Retrieved 7 March 2026 – via Elsevier Science Direct.

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