| Leucocephalus Temporal range: Wuchiapingian,
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|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Synapsida |
| Clade: | Therapsida |
| Suborder: | †Biarmosuchia |
| Family: | †Burnetiidae |
| Genus: | †Leucocephalus Day et al., 2018 |
| Species: | †L. wewersi
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| Binomial name | |
| †Leucocephalus wewersi Day et al., 2018
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Leucocephalus is a genus of biarmosuchian belonging to the family Burnetiidae dating to the Wuchiapingian (Late Permian).[1] It was found in the Tropidostoma Assemblage Zone of the Main Karoo Basin of South Africa. It is a monotypic taxon which contains one only species, Leucocephalus wewersi.[1] The genus name Leucocephalus is derived from Greek. Leucos, meaning white; kephalos, meaning skull, as the Leucocephalus skull discovered was unusually pale. The species epithet wewersi comes from the farm employee who found the skull, Klaus ‘Klaasie’ Wewers.[1]
Biarmosuchians are a group of some of the earliest therapsids, a group of synapsids including mammals and their ancestors.[2]
- ^ a b c Michael O. Day; Roger M. H. Smith; Julien Benoit; Vincent Fernandez; Bruce S. Rubidge (2018). "A new species of burnetiid (Therapsida, Burnetiamorpha) from the early Wuchiapingian of South Africa and implications for the evolutionary ecology of the family Burnetiidae". Papers in Palaeontology. Online edition. doi:10.1002/spp2.1114.
- ^ Fields, R. W. (1968-02-20). "Romer, Alfred S. Vertebrate Paleontology. University of Chicago Press, x + 478 pp., 443 figs., 4 tables, 3rd ed., 1966. Price, $10.00". Journal of Mammalogy. 49 (1): 165–166. doi:10.2307/1377759. ISSN 1545-1542. JSTOR 1377759.