Pristerognathus Assemblage Zone

Pristerognathus Assemblage Zone
Stratigraphic range: Middle Permian
TypeBiozone
Unit ofUpper Abrahamskraal Formation and Teekloof Formation of the Beaufort Group
UnderliesTropidostoma Assemblage Zone
OverliesTapinocephalus Assemblage Zone
Thicknessup to 984.252 feet (300 m)
Location
RegionNorthern, Western & Eastern Cape
Country South Africa
ExtentKaroo Basin
Type section
Named forPristerognathus polyodon
Named byKeyser & Smith
Year defined1979

The Pristerognathus Assemblage Zone is a tetrapod assemblage zone or biozone which correlates to the upper Abrahamskraal Formation and lowermost Teekloof Formation, Adelaide Subgroup of the Beaufort Group, a fossiliferous and geologically important geological Group of the Karoo Supergroup in South Africa. The thickest outcrops, reaching not more than 300 metres (980 ft), occur just east of Sutherland through to Beaufort West in the south and Victoria West in the north. Exposures are also found west of Colesberg and south of Graaff-Reinet. The Pristerognathus Assemblage Zone is the third biozone of the Beaufort Group.[1][2][3]

The name of the biozone refers to Pristerognathus polyodon, a medium-sized carnivorous therocephalian therapsid. It is characterized by the presence of this therocephalian species in association with Diictodon feliceps, a small, fossorial dicynodont whose fossils are especially common in this biozone.

  1. ^ Rubidge, B. S. (ed.) 1995b. Biostratigraphy of the Beaufort Group (Karoo Supergroup). South African Committee of Stratigraphy. Biostratigraphic Series 1. Pretoria, Council for Geoscience.
  2. ^ Rubidge, Bruce S.; Day, Michael O.; Barbolini, Natasha; Hancox, P. John; Choiniere, Jonah N.; Bamford, Marion K.; Viglietti, Pia A.; McPhee, Blair W.; Jirah, Sifelani (2016), "Advances in Nonmarine Karoo Biostratigraphy: Significance for Understanding Basin Development", Origin and Evolution of the Cape Mountains and Karoo Basin, Regional Geology Reviews, Springer International Publishing, pp. 141–149, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-40859-0_14, ISBN 9783319408583
  3. ^ van der Walt, Merrill; Day, Michael; Rubidge, Bruce; Cooper, Antony; Netterberg, Inge (2010-12-31). "A new GIS-based biozone map of the Beaufort Group (Karoo Supergroup), South Africa". Palaeontologia Africana. 45: 1–6.