Suminia

Suminia
Temporal range: Late Permian,
Life reconstruction of Suminia
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Synapsida
Clade: Therapsida
Suborder: Anomodontia
Genus: Suminia
Ivachnenko, 1994
Species:
S. getmanovi
Binomial name
Suminia getmanovi
Ivachnenko, 1994

Suminia is an extinct genus of basal anomodont that lived during the Tatarian age of the late Permian, spanning approximately from 268–252 Ma. Suminia is recognized as the youngest non-dicynodont anomodont and was named in honor of Russian paleontologist D. L. Sumin. Its fossil localities are primarily derived from the Kotel’nich locality of the Kirov Oblast in Russia. However, there have been some isolated specimens found in a few different localities, all from eastern European regions of Russia.

Suminia, along with Otsheria and Ulemica make up the monophyletic group of Russian basal anomodonts named Venyukovioidea. These Venyukovioid anomodonts are understood to have been derived from an ancestor that dispersed from Gondwana into Euramerica. Suminia getmanovi is the only defined species within the genus and it is known for specializations in teeth for effective, functional oral processing of plant material as well as being one of the first species with a proposed arboreal lifestyle.