Herpetoskylax
| Herpetoskylax Temporal range: Late Permian | |
|---|---|
| Herpetoskylax hopsoni | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Synapsida |
| Clade: | Therapsida |
| Suborder: | †Biarmosuchia |
| Genus: | †Herpetoskylax Sidor and Rubidge, 2006 |
| Species: | †H. hopsoni |
| Binomial name | |
| †Herpetoskylax hopsoni Sidor and Rubidge, 2006 | |
Herpetoskylax is an extinct genus of biarmosuchian therapsids which existed in South Africa. The type species is Herpetoskylax hopsoni. It lived in the Late Permian Period.
The genus name means ‘reptile-puppy’, from the Ancient Greek herpeto- (ἑρπετόν, ‘creeping animal’) and skylax (σκύλαξ, ‘young dog’). The juxtaposition of reptilian and mammalian names highlights the transitional characters of non-mammalian therapsids. The type specimen is CGP 1/67, a skull. The skull and lower jaw were the only components found.