| Syodontidae Temporal range: Wordian to Capitanian |
|
|---|---|
| Syodon | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Class: | Synapsida |
| Order: | Therapsida |
| Suborder: | Dinocephalia |
| Superfamily: | Anteosauroidea |
| Family: | Syodontidae Ivakhnenko, 1994 |
| Genera | |
Syodontidae are a possibly paraphyletic family of smallish primitive carnivorous Dinocephalia. They lack the distinctive 'boss' on the lower jaw, that characterises the Anteosauridae, so they can be considered more primitive. They are known from the Middle Permian Period of what is now Russia and, more recently, South Africa. The South African form, Australosyodon, is the earliest known Gondwanan Anteosaur and dates from the Eodicynodon Assemblage Zone. It appears to be very similar to the Russian Syodon.