| Phonodus Temporal range: Early Triassic |
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|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Class: | Sauropsida |
| Subclass: | Anapsida |
| Order: | Procolophonomorpha |
| Family: | Procolophonidae |
| Subfamily: | Leptopleuroninae |
| Genus: | Phonodus Modesto et al., 2010 |
| Species | |
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P. dutoitorum Modesto et al., 2010 |
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Phonodus is an extinct genus of procolophonid parareptile. It is known from a single skull found from the Early Triassic Katberg Formation in South Africa. It is the oldest known member of the subfamily Leptopleuroninae, and was likely the result of a procolophonid migration into the Karoo Basin from Laurasia after the Permo-Triassic extinction event. Because Phonodus had large maxillary teeth underneath a large antorbital buttress (a bony prominence in front of the eye), and a lack of ventral temporal emargination along the side of the skull, it probably had a durophagous diet.[1]