Chaliminia is an extinct genus of tritheledontid cynodont from the Late Triassic (Norian stage) of what is now Argentina. The type and only species is C. musteloides, from the Los Colorados Formation.[1]

Chaliminia
Temporal range: Norian
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Synapsida
Clade: Therapsida
Clade: Cynodontia
Family: Tritheledontidae
Subfamily: Chalimininae
Martinelli & Rougier, 2007
Genus: Chaliminia
Bonaparte, 1980
Type species
Chaliminia musteloides
Bonaparte, 1980

Like other tritheledontids, Chaliminia was closely related to mammaliaforms (the most advanced cynodonts, similar to mammals as historically defined). It serves as one of the earliest known tritheledontids in South America, offering insights into probainognathian diversification before the origin of mammals. The specimen has sectorial (blade-like) teeth: highly specialized postcanines with a main cusp flanked by accessory cusps—similar to Riograndia, Irajatherium and Pachygenelus.[1][citation needed]

See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 Martinelli, Agustín G.; Rougier, Guillermo W. (2007). "On Chaliminia musteloides (Eucynodontia: Tritheledontidae) from the Late Triassic of Argentina, and a phylogeny of Ictidosauria". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 27 (2): 442. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2007)27[442:OCMETF]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0272-4634. JSTOR 30126311.