Nikkasaurus
Extinct genus of mammal ancestors
Nikkasaurus is an extinct genus of therapsids first named and described by Ivakhnenko.
01Description
Nikkasaurus, named after Russian paleontologist Nikolay Kalandadze, was a small therapsid, with a skull about 5 cm long. The eyes had large orbits and scleral rings, and the head was tilted back, as with all therapsids. The skull looks superficially similar to those of the pelycosaurs, in particular members of Varanopidae.
02Biology
Nikkasaurus was probably mainly insectivorous, and possibly nocturnal.
03Systematics
The only known species is the type species N. tatarinovi, described by MF Ivahnenko in 2000, from the Middle Permian Mezen River Basin. Nikkasaurus is possibly a relic of a more ancient stage of therapsid development.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Nikkasaurus”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Nikkasaurus1DB.jpg by Dmitry Bogdanov, CC BY-SA 3.0
Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.