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Creators/Authors contains: "Rubidge, Bruce"

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  1. The Dicynodontia (Therapsida: Anomodontia) is one of the most successful Permo-Triassic terrestrial tetrapod clades and the oldest specimens are recorded from the middle PermianEodicynodonAssemblage Zone of South Africa. Their fossil record is abundant and species-rich across Pangea. By contrast, the fossil record of the basal-most anomodonts, which includes non-dicynodont anomodonts and early forms of dicynodonts, is patchy and their morphology and phylogeny are deduced from relatively few specimens. Discovered in 1982 and described in 1990, the holotype ofEodicynodon oelofseni(NMQR 2913) is one of the better-preserved early anomodont specimens. However, it has been suggested thatE. oelofsenidoes not belong to the genusEodicynodon. Here, using CT-scanning and 3D modeling, the skull ofEodicynodon oelofseni,Patranomodon nyaphuliiandEodicynodon oosthuizeniare redescribed. In the framework of this study, the application of 3D scanning technology to describe anatomical structures which were previously inaccessible in these fossils has enabled detailed redescription of the cranial morphology of the basal anomodontsPatranomodon,Eodicynodon oelofseniandE. oosthuizeniand led to a greater understanding of their cranial morphology and phylogenetic relationships. Based on an anatomical comparison and phylogenetic analyses (Bayesian and cladistics) the phylogenetic relationships of basal anomodonts are reassessed and it is suggested that NMQR 2913 does not belong to the genusEodicynodonbut likely represents a separate genus basal to other dicynodonts. A new genus is erected for NMQR 2913. This presents one of the first applications of Bayesian Inference of phylogeny on Therapsida. 
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