Otsheria

Otsheria
Temporal range: Middle Permian, 267 Ma
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Life restoration of Otsheria
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Synapsida
Clade: Therapsida
Suborder: †Anomodontia
Genus: †Otsheria
Tchudinov, 1960
Species:
†O. netzvetajevi
Binomial name
†Otsheria netzvetajevi
Tchudinov, 1960

Otsheria is an extinct genus of anomodont, in the infraorder venyukovioidea. It lived in modern-day Russia during the Permian.[1]

The genus is named for the Ochyor region where it was discovered in 1960, and the type species is Otsheria netzvetajevi.[2]

The holotype, a skull lacking a mandible (PIN 1758/5), is the only Otsheria fossil extant. The skull is 10.5 centimetres (4.1 in) in length, with large eye sockets and a short, broad snout. The skull suggests four incisors and nine short, flattened maxillary teeth. The canines are undifferentiated. The shape of the teeth and skull both suggest a mouth adapted for cutting plant parts, which in turn suggests a herbivorous or omnivorous diet.[3]

O. netzvetajevi skull.
  1. ^ Modesto, S. P. & Rybcynski, N. The amniote faunas of the Russian Permian: implications for Late Permian terrestrial vertebrate biogeography. In Benton, M. J.; Shishkin, M. A.; Unwin, D. M.; Kurochkin, E. N. The Age of Dinosaurs in Russia and Mongolia. Cambridge University Press, 2001. 672 p.
  2. ^ Ivakhnenko, M.F. (2003). "Eotherapsids from the East European Placket (Late Permian)". Paleontological Journal. 37 (S4): 339–465. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  3. ^ Kemp, T. S. (2005). The Origin and Evolution of Mammals. Oxford University Press. pp. 39–42. ISBN 978-0-19-850761-1.